Reality Check: Back To Reality
by Rayth Ulthran
Summary: The second installment of the Reality Check Trilogy. A recent assassination attempt on Queen Garnet has ignited a chain reaction of events that could spell doom for not only Gaia, but for all of existence...
1. Prologue: Five Years Later

Disclaimer: Okay then, I do not own anything affiliated with Square-Enix (Final Fantasy 9, etc). However, I do own the concept of the spiritseers, the spirit realm, most of the "original" characters (Chris, Melissa, etc). Neil Day owns the rights to his character, and I am using him with direct consent. Bruce Thomson owns the rights to his character, which I am also using via direct consent from him. That about covers it for this one.

Hehe, bet that cliffhanger's eating away at you. This is the second installment of the trilogy, which started with "Help! I'm Stuck In FF9!". **Make sure you have read that before reading any of this. It contains spoilers right from the start! ** Thanks again to anyone who read the previous installment (cookies to those who reviewed!), and let's hope this one gets kicked off to a good start. Strangely enough, I'd already started thinking up ideas for this one during that three year period of absence, so it _should _be good.

_**Reality Check**_

_**Prologue: Five Years Later**_

Five years ago, he'd left for the Iifa Tree with Zidane, in an attempt to rescue Kuja. That was the last time I ever saw him. Five years passed, and Gaia was healing from the terrible wounds that war had inflicted on it. Five years passed, and everyone's lives continued, each in their own separate ways. Not a day passes without a thought of the events of today, a desperate yearning for the truth. For today, the truth would be revealed, and I would finally know what happened.

I looked out over the bustling town of Alexandria, watching as life continued oblivious to the events that would happen today, especially the important one involving their queen and a certain mischievous young rogue. The stunning sun blasted down upon the swarming city, leaving not one fluffy white cloud in the sky. It was as if the heaven's were smiling down on today, as though it was a joyous occasion. It was though, if the one I sought was still alive, then he would be with Zidane.

"_Don't get your hopes up." _A voice spoke up in my head.

"_Ah for Christ's sake Nova, he'll be alive. I know it." _I assured my guardian, flicking a bug out of the air as it flew towards my face.

"_Hey, I want nothing more than to see them again, but you saw the vision that Vincent had recorded. There's no way he could have survived that."_

"_What makes you so sure?" _I heard a faint sigh.

"_Look, even if he did survive, what kind of state will he be in? In case you didn't notice, there was a distinct lack of white mages there."_

"_Well, there was one."_

"_Oh, you really think he managed to save Kuja? His soul was connected to Zidane's, the timer would have run out."_

"_But Zidane had his soul removed, remember? That would have stopped the timer."_

"_But..." _Nova tried to come up with another reason, but gave up. We'd had this conversation hundreds of times over the past five years, and each time he was defeated. Our little argument was suddenly interrupted by something large blocking out the dazzling sunlight that rained down on the world.

"They're here." I stood up and jumped back onto the crisp, green grass from the ancient stony wall that I had been relaxing on. Alexandria Castle had been well repaired, workers had worked day and night to replace the ancient crystal-like sword that had stood towering from the roof of the castle with a near perfect replica. The castle grounds were bustling with soldiers, civilians and other assorted people, all busily preparing for the play in the afternoon. I looked up again at the rebuilt Prima Vista, as it soared towards the castle grounds like a graceful swan would cross a lake. I gazed down at a familiar figure wandering towards me.

"Hey, ready for the play?" Neil asked, arms folded in impatience. He had recently been appointed a Paladin of Alexandria, since he took on Beatrix in the training room of the barracks, much to the stunned reception of the soldiers that had been training. To have one war hero training in the same room as you was an honour, but to have two in the same room, training against each other was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Especially when a weedy seventeen year old drop a war hero like Beatrix. Obviously, she'd been much impressed with this, and had taken him out with her on a raid on a bandit camp that had been troubling the town of Condie Petie. Amazingly, he had even saved her life, prompting a knighthood from Queen Garnet. I smiled when I remembered a recent battle between him and Bruce, ending in a stalemate in which they almost sliced each other's head off.

Bruce, while we had been tinkering around in Alexandria, had been hanging out in Lindblum, being issued as a bodyguard for Regent Cid and Lady Hilda, who had adopted Eiko, still the rambunctious little girl as always. Bruce had saved the lives of the family several times, even on a state visit to Black Mage Village, when he took several swipes from a vicious Mistodon and had dispatched with it in one blow. He was officially a Dark Knight of Lindblum, but he only bragged about about seven times a day. At the very least.

While they were off having a good time getting knighthoods and the such, I spent my time wandering the globe, mostly helping out towns in need, especially when they were under attack from the remaining few Mist Age monsters that were still hanging around. However, when Neil had told me about Zidane's imminent return, it had brought back hope of finding Chris alive. When I took a trip to Zion and asked Vincent about the premonitions that he had recorded, some were a little disturbing, to say the least. The worst, by far, was my death. It must have been heart-rending to see those you love die over and over again. It was then I had seen the vision he had had about the Iifa Tree, and I realised that the chances of him being alive were slim to none.

"I can't wait." I responded, following him to the Prima Vista's landing sight.

I'd never really liked plays that much. The usual story of betrayal, love, death and so on got old fast. I watched intently though, looking as though I was showing interest. A heavily cloaked figure stood on the stage, reciting a heart-felt speech, while the smaller figure of Cinna stood on one of the make shift balconies nearby.

"She told me that she could not live without me. So, the sun is our enemy, too. The eastern sky grow bright. Will we not spread our wings, as yonder birds in joyous flight?" The cloaked guy's voice sounded pretty familiar, but it was obvious that he was hiding his real voice. Cinna waved his arms about, shouting loudly.

"Hark, Marcus! They cannot wait any longer! The ship departs!" He jumped down the back of the stage leaving the lone figure alone.

"Could she have betrayed me? Nay, ne'er would my love speak false. I must have faith! She shall appear if I only believe! As the sun lends me no ear, I pray instead to the twin moons! I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish!" The figure swept of his cloak and revealed himself to be none other than Zidane, staring lovingly up to the yonder balcony where Dagger sat up in shock. "Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" I heard some of the close members of the old group gasp in shock. I wasn't too interested in this, I was looking around to see if I could spot an altogether more important figure. I barely noticed as Dagger shot past and dived into Zidane's open arms. The whole audience burst into a mess of cheers and applause, as they shared a kiss. I couldn't help but clap anyway, still looking around.

The audience had started to filter out of the area that had been put aside for the play, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. You could just imagine how fast gossip like that would travel across the planet, especially when it was a bunch of nobles that were spreading it. Zidane helped Dagger off the stage, walking along hand in hand across the cobbled walkway, heading in our direction. Eiko was the first to reach him however, and dived at his legs, proclaiming his survival at the top of her voice. Freya and Amarant just seemed to nod nonchalantly, almost as if they knew the outcome of this too. Quina was just bouncing around happily, babbling about the magnificent feast she was going to prepare in celebration. Neil and Bruce and myself, however, just looked on in expectancy. Neil and Bruce had recently been discussing the possibility of returning to Earth at this point, since this was the end of the game, so to speak. I couldn't see how this could happen though, since I had arrived here three years before the plot had begun. I smiled as Zidane approached, but at the moment he saw my face, he almost winced.

"_That can't be good." _I thought. "Good to see you back." I smiled at him, hoping with every inch of my body that he didn't bear bad news.

"It's good to see you guys. Man, it's been so long."

"What the hell took you so long?" Bruce tapped his foot impatiently.

"Heh, long story."

"Uh, where's Chris?" Neil asked, causing Zidane to look down at his feet, chewing his lip with thought. My head screamed at me that this wasn't good, but the rest of me refused to believe it.

"He...didn't make it."

"WHAT?" Neil and Bruce were in complete uproar. "How in the hell did that happen!"

"Well, he got seriously smashed up by this huge vine while trying to save Kuja's life. It wasn't a pretty sight, he was barely alive when we managed to dig him out." I couldn't believe it. I downright refused to believe it. "He was pretty calm about the whole thing though, he just told me to deliver one last message to you all: Turn around and look behind you." My brain boggled for a minute. What the heck was that supposed to mean? Look behind you? I turned around to look behind me and almost dropped dead with shock. Barely inches away from me stood a vibrant light-brown haired, youth, standing draped in a black cloak that concealed most of his body, his blue eyes glittering in the setting sun. On his shoulder sat a familiar white dove, a stark contrast to it's owner's dark attire.

Melissa's beautiful face showed a myriad of emotions at once. Confusion, joy, anger, sorrow, and a whole host of others. At that point she turned forcefully around at Zidane and raised her hand, looking like she was going to knock his lights out. He was desperately trying not to laugh his head off at the circumstances. Even I had to admit that this joke was little cruel, but still, it was funny as hell.

"What is it with you and your refusal to just lay down and die?" Bruce shouted jokingly.

"Oh come on, you think a vine is enough to kill me? After having a sword shoved into my ribcage, almost being drowned, thrown off a building, zapped, torched and generally being blown to bits, you'd think I'd have died long ago!" I replied, before receiving a painful punch in the stomach.

"That was for playing that mean prank on me!" Melissa shouted angrily. I gasped, completely winded.

"...I deserved that." I tried to get my breath back, bending over slightly.

"So, what's been going on during these five years then?" Neil asked, eyebrow raised at the fact I'd just been leveled by a girl.

"Like Zidane said, it's a long story."

Sorry that was a little short, but it wasn't in desperate need of much anyway. The next chapter will be much longer, and will contain some new exciting developments. See ya soon, and make sure you click that little review button down there, it would make me very happy!

Ulthran


	2. Chapter 1: Cloak & Dagger

Disclaimer: I don't own, or claim to own, Earth or Gaia, or any of the characters of Final Fantasy IX (9). I do, however, own my original characters. I do however own the mysterious assassin (Lethe), Chris, Melissa, the whole idea of the spiritseers, and I am "borrowing" Neil and Bruce by express permission from their owners.

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_**Chapter 1: Cloak & Dagger**_

_I opened my eyes slowly and immediately wished I hadn't. My body was in so much pain that I couldn't even scream, I just lay there whimpering. There were dark movements in my vision, floating about like seaweed on the tide._

"_Owww..." I moaned in shock. Normally, I could feel when a bone was broken, or something like that, but now I felt like everything was broken, every single bone in my body was ablaze with agony, my shattered mind was just screaming, telling me to just get on with it and die. I faintly heard a voice before lapsing back into sweet unconsciousness._

"_I think I've found him!"_

The Red Rose, in all it's sweeping majesty, set off into the skies from the beautiful city of Alexandria. I leant dreamily on the handrail, gazing over the sprawling landscape before me. Once we arrived at Lindblum, there was going to be the first Festival Of The Hunt since the war that struck the city five years ago. Members of all the major territories would be there, like Puck from Burmecia. He'd taken the place of his father, after he'd regrettably passed away two years ago. Even though he was now responsible for an entire nation, it didn't make him grow up at all. He was still the same rambunctious so and so from when I had first became his "slave" all that time ago. In fact, he still wandered around like he had no royal duties at all, causing no end of stress to Burmecia's government.

Then, of course, were Mikoto and Mr 397 from Black Mage Village. True to their word, they had begun endeavors to unite Gaians, Mages and Genomes ever since the end of the Mist Age. However, they had become quite unstuck when the Black Mages lifespans started to wane. Only by the intervention of the people of Dali prevented their extinction, bringing the machines that originally spawned them back to life. Unfortunately, this is only a temporary solution, as Gaia's supply of Mist as also dropped steeply, due to the destruction of the Iifa Tree's roots.

I sighed in nostalgia. So much had happened, and I had taken a back seat in life and missed most of it. Not that the past five years have gone by without event for myself, but I was glad that things were finally settling down in Gaia.

"Haven't changed a bit, have you?" I heard a familiar voice from behind me and smiled. "Still all mysterious and dark, like you're constantly hiding something." Melissa joined me, looking at the view.

"Well I had to grow up at a bit, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Got time for that long story?" She looked at me, head cocked sideways."

"Well, maybe a bit of it." I sighed. "Where do I start?"

"How about how you survived in the Iifa Tree?"

"Well..."

_Again, I was brought back into consciousness, blinking in the bleak darkness that enshrouded the compact little world I had come to know. The blazing agony had subsided slightly, leaving me just feeling unbearably broken. When my mind decided to stop complaining, I had time to think about things. How was I still alive? Was I still alive? Where was everyone? What the heck happened?_

"_He's awake again." I heard a familiar voice close by, accompanied by a large white blur in my sight. Right next to it was a light blue blur, moving slightly._

"_Chris? How you feeling?" I heard Zidane's voice, so I assumed that he was the light blue blur._

"_Like I've been hit by a truck, and then sat on by a oil tanker."_

"_Hit by a what?"_

"_By a--- never mind." My vision was beginning to clear, and I could start to make out features on the white blur. "Hey Kuja, feeling alright?"_

"_I have a lot of thoughts on my mind." I could guess why too, who wouldn't after being told you were going to die, but miraculously survived? With my vision clearing, I decided to have a look at what was going on with the rest of my body. My torso was a mess, but it looked as though someone had been doing some healing work on it. I guessed that had been Kuja._

"_Hey, thanks." I told him. He shrugged._

"_We're equal now. You saved my life, I saved yours." He turned to look at me, and he looked confused. "What exactly did you do to me?"_

"_Once you died, I re-bonded your soul with your body. Took a lot out of me too."_

"_Why didn't you to escape into the netherworld? It would have been a little easier than having a vine smashing you into a wall."_

"_I was a bit too tired after sorting you out. Not to mention the fact that I thought it was fate. I thought I was supposed to die here."_

"_What made you think that?" Zidane joined into the conversation, sat on a lifeless vine._

"_I saw it in a vision. What I see usually happens at some point."_

"_So that's why you came with me?"_

"_Hell no, I just wanted to make sure that iron thong over there made it out of here alive."_

"_Who?" Zidane looked a little puzzled. I sighed._

"_Never mind. If you ever get to my world, you'll have a lot to learn."_

Lindblum still looked eye-bogglingly brilliant from above, the Industrial District's factories and workshops spouted thick columns of pure white steam into the atmosphere, while the faint sound of cheers and laughter echoed from the Theatre District's many theatres. The sky was teeming with the new steam-powered airships developed by a team of technicians under the watchful eyes of Regent Cid. In fact, most of the existing airships were able to utilise the new technology without too much work on them. In the towering Grand Castle, I could see the magnificent form of the Hilda Garde IV rested like a proud eagle in it's nest, it's valiant prow poked out of the side of the colossal docks.

The Red Rose glided into one of the docking bays, coming to rest next to the disembarking platform. Melissa and myself waited for Dagger to come up from beneath the deck, flanked by Steiner & Neil. She was wearing a majestic gown, pearl white in colour. She crossed the bridge gracefully, hand-in-hand with Zidane, who stood out like a sore thumb next to her majestic clothing, standing in his usual light-blue scruffs. He seemed to have made a small effort however, as his hair was combed back, instead of it's normal unruly self. Bruce followed behind, wearing the new suit of armour that he had been given by Regent Cid, lined with jet-black obsidian, gleaming in the blazing sunlight. Behind him stood Freya and Amarant, dressed up as usual, along with Eiko, who seemed to be happy to be back in Lindblum.

"Just like the good old times!" She sighed happily, before bounding down to the bridge to her awaiting "father". I shrugged and followed suite, letting my new black mage cloak swish around me as I walked. Sadly, I couldn't get hold of a hat that would fit on my head, so I couldn't complete the look. Regent Cid, wearing his usual regal clothing, gave Dagger a little hug and shook Zidane's hand firmly.

"It's good to see you all again. I trust that some of you will be joining in the festivities today? I've heard that some of the beasts they have today are quite magnificent." While the others chatted amongst themselves, Bruce came up to me.

"So how about it? Ready to kick some monster ass?" I thought about it for a second, before shaking my head.

"Nah, I'll stay up here and root for you all. It'd be a bit unfair, seeming I have a guardian and all."

"_Shh, no-one will notice!" _Kirjava murmured sarcastically from inside my head.

"Don't let that stop you. I'm going for it anyway." Melissa said.

"Sucks to be me, I have to stay up here and guard Dagger." Neil muttered, but Dagger laughed.

"Oh I think I'll be fine for five minutes! Go and enjoy yourself!"

The crowd were waving their little flags enthusiastically, cheering for the warrior they were rooting for. I stood next to Dagger and Zidane, while Steiner scoured the view for any sign of the others.

"You should have taken part, you were pretty nifty with that black magic when we were out against those monsters near Gizamulke's Grotto." Zidane admitted.

"Yeah, but I'd have a bit of an unfair advantage."

"Quiet you two, it's about to start!" Steiner chastised us as the crowd went silent. Silence engulfed the entire city, barely any movement could be seen. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the crowd went wild, cheering, whistling, waving flags, making as much noise as possible. The hunt was on.

I watched as a hunter deftly took down a wolf-like creature with a rapier, weaving it expertly against a sparrow-like beast as it tried to peck his face. I glanced across at the Theatre District, where Neil was blasting away at anything that moved with Holy spells, side swiping at a blob monster that was heading towards his legs. Bruce was nearby, cleaving monsters in two with his claymore, that also was lined with obsidian. He swung the blade behind him, charging forward with a war cry and decapitating a wolf in front of him. There was a loud cheer as I saw the distant form of Melissa performing a perfectly executed back flip onto the spine of a wolf, while slicing up a sparrow deftly with her katana, flashing sharply in the sunlight. It was an amazing sight to watch, the whole city seemed to be alive, teeming with monsters and hunters. It was at that moment I felt a slight flicker, not on this plane, but on another. I turned around, looking about for what could have caused it, and saw something that made me freeze with shock.

Just inches behind Dagger was a woman, a sharp kunai raised above her head, poised to land in the back of Dagger's neck. She was wearing a dark purple and black armour, that seemed incredibly light on her body. Her eyes were cold and calculating, the iris was also dark purple in colour. Steiner turned around at this moment, and also noticed the threat to his queen, drawing his sword and knocking the blade aside.

"Halt, traitorous dog!" He shouted as the woman recovered, drawing out the other kunai from behind her back and aiming again for Dagger, this time hitting her in the upper arm. I leapt forwards in between the two, charging up an ice spell to fire at her, but she amazingly vanished into thin air, appearing an instant later in front of Dagger, this time aiming for her throat. Luckily, Zidane was close by and managed to grab the assassin and throw her backwards, toppling dangerously near the edge of the platform. Some of the crowd members had suddenly grown interested in the battle unfolding right in front of them, gasping with each blow, and cheering every time we landed a hit on the assassin.

It didn't seem to be helping much though, her armour was thick enough to deflect most of our hits, yet light enough to allow her to perform all sorts of gymnastic feats. Again, the woman banished into thin air, and I realised just why that tactic seemed so familiar. Why would a spiritseer be attacking the Queen of Alexandria? I left this thought for a moment and threw out my hand, freezing time around the assassin for a few moments, allowing Dagger to get behind us and start moving towards Regent Cid, who was ordering guards to start moving into position. Just then, my stop spell waned and evaporated, allowing the woman move freely once again. Zidane jumped at her, swinging his daggers deftly into her face, carving a deep slice right across her face. She stepped back for a second, and touched her face with a spare hand. She took one look at the crimson blood that covered her hand and started to laugh, throwing her kunai straight at Steiner. The blade hit a chink in his armour, and he grunted as the blade pieced flesh, just near his shoulder. While he was distracted, she somersaulted swiftly over him and charged straight at Dagger, hitting a guard standing right in front of her with a flying kick. The guard screamed and toppled clumsily over the side of the battlement, coming to rest with a crunch on the ground far below. She looked straight at Dagger and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up off the ground.

"Time to die." Her voice was cold, with barely any emotion in it whatsoever. I damned myself for leaving my bow in the room on the Red Rose, and realised that in that position, I couldn't risk firing a spell at her either, in case I accidentally blew both of them up. Zidane, desperate to save his love, flung his dagger straight into the woman's back. She dropped Dagger with a thud, and fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Time for a little interrogation, I thought. I grabbed her and turned her over onto her back, grabbing her neck in a tight grip.

"Who are you!" I shouted angrily.

"Ah, the young one. The Master said you would be here."

"Why are you trying to kill the Queen?" She laughed, getting weaker and weaker by the second.

"Trying? I've already succeeded..." With that, she shuddered and went limp. I dropped her back on to the floor and turned to see Zidane crouched by Dagger's side on the floor. Her chest had a growing red blood stain, slowly spreading out in stark contrast to the pure white gown she was wearing.

"_Kirjava, get Neil."_ I ordered my guardian, who promptly shot out of my pendant, soaring high into the sky as her beautiful dragon form, before dropping down sharply towards the Theatre District. I turned again to Dagger, and took a look at her wounds.

There was something highly unusual with the wounds in her body. They were not only bleeding profusely, but there also seemed to be a faint white mist creeping out of them, evaporating after a few seconds in the open. I recognised this as something that definitely shouldn't be leaving her body, her actual essence. Her very spirit was bleeding out through her wounds, which meant that not only would she die, but there would be nothing left to live on in the spirit realm. In effect, it would kill her twice, completely annihilating her from existence. I knew I had to concentrate hard, otherwise we would lose her. Slowly, I put my hands out over the wound on her chest, closing my eyes and trying to feel for the wound in her soul. I felt memories, fear, confusion, shock, her entire mind flowing through mine. I felt around carefully, sensing anything that shouldn't be there. It was at that moment that I found what I was looking for: a gap in her consciousness, a place where there was nothing. I concentrated on finding the very edges of this gap, pulling them together with my mind. I felt a click deep within me, a good sign. I opened my eyes and looked at her. That was the spiritual wounds sorted out, now we had to wait for the physical ones to heal up. Just then, I heard a flapping above my and Neil landed with a thud next to me. He looked quite shocked.

"What the hell happened here?" He ducked down and started to heal the Queen's wounds.

"An assassin happened, that's what. She's lucky to be alive." I informed. He shook his head in dismay.

"Honestly, I leave for five minutes and all hell breaks loose!"

Things were calming down a little, the crowd was dispersing, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. I knelt down next to the body of the assassin, checking out her armour. The markings on it looked familiar: a flaming eye with a knife through it. I couldn't think for the life of me who it belonged to though, but I was little preoccupied with the fact she had spiritseer abilities. I looked at her arm, where there was a small control panel. After tinkering around with the buttons, I found out that her powers were artificial. Someone had made a device that allowed the wearer to phase between realms. This was getting a little out of hand. Who would want Dagger dead so much that they would send a highly technological assassin after her? I shook my head and got up. Many questions needed answering, and I figured that only one person would be able to answer them.

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Well that's it for now! Hope it's good enough for you, and I'll get on with writing the next chappie. See ya soon!

Ulthran


	3. Chapter 2: A Face Unforgotten

Disclaimer: Instead of re-writing this out all the time, just go with what you've read on previous chapters, and I'll add more on as we go along. The mysterious girl in this chapter is property of Samantha Warnaar, and is being used at expressed permission. The Wraith are of my own creation, as is the Halo Uplink

A/N: Before you ask, no, the Halo looks nothing like the superweapon from the Halo series. It's a big spacestation shaped like a ring inside a ring inside a ring, hovering directly over Zion.

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_**Chapter 2: A Face Unforgotten**_

I lay back on the soft warm comfortable bed, my thoughts stuck in a frenzy. One of the hundreds of rooms in Lindblum's Grand Castle, it was furnished with a luxury that I had spent too long without. The crystal clear window lead out onto a balcony with a view to kill for. From where I lay, I could see the entire Business District sprawled out in front of me, the setting sun's blood red death throes blazed away across the thousands of assorted rooftops. I still had the laughing blood-splattered face of that assassin stuck firmly in front of my eyes, her shrill laughter still rung clear in my ears. I just couldn't figure it out. Why had she wanted to kill Dagger so much that she gave her life in the attempt? I recalled the symbol on her armour, the flaming eye with a knife through it, and realised that there was something I needed to do tonight. I stood up to walk out of the room, but I saw the ethereal figure of my ancestor stood at the door, leant against the door frame patiently.

"Think of the devil." I murmured, as he stood up properly, his form highlighted by the dying sun outside.

"I think there's something you should see." He handed a small device over to me. I looked at it in wonder.

The device was nothing short of a technological marvel. It was a smooth metallic silver, about the size of your hand. Taking up most of it's surface was a well-lit screen, showing what seemed to be a technical map of some sort.

"What is it?"

"It's a Halo Uplink. It links up with the Halo, a massive space-station mounted in geo-stationary orbit above Zion. In turn, that is linked with an array of satellites all across both Earth and Gaia." He looked at my highly confused face and rolled his eyes. "Basically, it shows where every single spirit in the entire multiverse is. If you look at the screen, you'll see it's over this castle at the moment." I looked at the screen and saw a big green-ish glow in the middle, with the word "Lindblum" typed over the top. I could just faintly see a few blue-ish dots scattered around the castle.

"Hmm." I sighed in thought.

"The green dots are spirits from Gaia, red dots are from Terra, and blue dots are from Earth." He explained, pointing out each on the screen.

"So, what's this all about then?"

"Take a look at the Treno area." I slid my finger along the screen, until it was focused over Treno. Once again, it was a huge green glow.

"What about it?"

"Look about five miles north-west" I checked it out and saw a faint blue spot on the screen. I looked at him. "I take it you still remember that vision you had a few weeks ago?"

How could I forget? Ever since I'd started to have visions over five years ago, this one had been cropping up a lot recently. A girl being attacked by wraiths just south of Treno, an Earth girl. She was obviously important if I was having so many visions of her, but just how important she was I did not know. I looked outside at the sun as it slowly sank beneath the horizon. By my calculations, judging from what I had seen in my visions, she got attacked close to midnight. That gave me roughly four hours to get to Treno. I looked at Vincent.

"Well, I'd better get going then." He looked a little worried.

"Be careful, wraiths are not to be toyed with. If they get their hands on you, you're worse than dead."

"Relax, I'll be fine."

"_Pssh, yeah right. I'll have to bail you out once again." _Kirjava replied jokingly from the pendant.

The night sky was wonderfully cool as we soared through the twilight air, illuminated hauntingly by the deathly white moon, while the glowing red moon bathed the land with a light pink outline. I scoured the landscape, spotting the constantly lit city of Treno, huddled away in the corner near a mountain range. Kirjava declined gently, gliding along close to the ground, trying to pick out any movement in the area with her razor-sharp eyes. I looked up at the two moons, noting that they were almost directly above us. Once again, I looked down at the uplink Vincent had given me, looking at the blue dot slowly pulsing away on the screen, close to another blue dot, which I assumed was myself.

"_Over there." _Kirjava noted. I looked in the direction we were flying and saw what she was looking at. A small figure stumbling away in the distance. We flew in closer, and I jumped off, landing with a soft thud on the crisp, dew-coated grass. As Kirjava morphed into a small white moth and sat huddled in my collar for warmth, I strode purposely towards the figure, getting closer by the second. It seemed to have stopped, gazing at the distant city of Treno. At that moment, I got an overwhelming sense of deja-vu. I had seen this before.

The figure was definitely a human female, as her dress-sense completely gave it away. She was wearing a short-ish black skirt, a purple top, and a small black cap, from which I could see medium length light-brown hair flowing down the back of her head to her shoulders. She seemed to sense something, and turned around, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw me.

"Ah! What the!" She almost screamed in shock. "Where did you come from?" Her foreign accent was definitely from Earth, but I just couldn't remember where.

"The same place you did." I replied, looking around cautiously. Sure enough, there were faint wispy figures appearing all around us. I readied a spell in my head, a good flare spell to kick things off with. I launched it at the nearest wraith, blasting it into a thin vapour that drifted away in the breeze. I saw a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye, and fired an ice spell narrowly over the shoulder of the girl, causing her to yelp in fear. I felt an icy cold touch on my back, and turned around again, smashing the wraith to pieces with a thunder spell. I heard the girl scream again, and turned to her, seeing the wraith that had grabbed hold of her by the shoulders. I shot the wraith with a quick burst of ice, causing it's hands to freeze and disintegrate. I rapidly finished it off, throwing a fire spell in it's face as it staggered backwards. I looked around, and saw three wraiths heading in a tight band straight towards the girl. Concentrating on a spell that an old friend had taught to me, I unleashed a bright purple lance of light at the three wraiths, instantaneously blowing them all to dust. I panted heavily, tuckered out from the sheer energy that Ultima consumed, but was relieved to see that all of the wraiths had vanished. Tired, I looked at the girl. Her face was a little pale, and she was breathing at quite a rapid pace.

"What...who...wha..." She instantly fainted and toppled to the floor. I sighed, looking at Treno. There was no way in a month of Sundays that I was going to be able to carry her for five miles, heck, I bet even Kirjava couldn't have carried both of us. I started to unpack the tent I'd brought with me. We were in for a long night.

I sat by the small fire I had lit, warming myself while looking down at the small device that had lead me to this place. I tapped away at the screen, zooming the image outwards until it showed the whole planet, a teeming mass of green light. Tapping a few more times, I saw the vaguely familiar form of a new planet appear, one covered in blue light. Zooming in now on a little island, dwarfed by the landmasses near to it, yet almost bursting at the seams with blue light. Closer and closer, until I saw the map outline of a small town in the northern part of the land, inwards and inwards until I saw a small terraced house with three small blue dots. That was it. I sighed as distant memories flooded back to me, filling my mind with images of long ago.

They must've thought I was dead. How else could my five year absence be explained? I felt a warmth on my cheek, running down my face to drip to the floor some distance away. I missed them, there was no other way to explain this burden in my heart. What I wouldn't give to see them once more.

I felt a stir behind me and turned to see the girl poke her head out of the tent, looking around in a confused manner.

"Feeling better?" I asked, jerking her out of a trance-like state.

"Yeah, thanks. What were those things?"

"Wraiths. Spiritual entities formed when an evil soul is released from a body, capable of sucking the life out of you, leaving you as an empty shell."

"I take it they're not the good guys then?" I laughed slightly.

"Hell no, they're the nastiest little buggers you could ever have the misfortune of running into. You're lucky to be alive."

"Well, thanks to you, I am."

"No problem, I guess you're not from these parts."

"It would help if I knew where I am."

"Roughly five miles north-west of Treno." She looked a little confused for a second.

"Ha, Treno. That sounds like a place from a game."

"It is, and it's not a game either."

"Wait a second, you honestly expect me to believe that I'm stuck in Final Fantasy 9?"

"Get used to it. I got stuck here five years ago, and I still haven't found a way back to Earth." She looked a little shocked.

"You're joking."

"Well I didn't just throw some fireworks at those things to get them to go away. That was real black magic. I learnt it a few days after I got here. Why do you think I'm carrying a bow around with me?" I reached into my pack, pulling out a vial filled with a light blue colour. "Take a wild guess at what this is." She looked really confused now, shaking her head.

"No way, that's impossible. How could I have possibly ended up here?"

"What were you doing the last time you remember being on Earth?"

"I was..." She stopped, and it seemed to dawn on her just what had happened.

"The same thing I was doing." I responded. She looked a little crestfallen.

"I don't know what to do."

"Well, I'll look after you until you get used to the place." She smiled.

"Thanks. I still don't know your name though."

"It's Chris, otherwise known as the wassock who always ends up in trouble." She laughed.

"Mine's Samantha, but Sam's shorter. So, where do we go first?"

"Well, I need to get back to Alexandria, to meet up with the others. You may as well tag along if you like."

"Sure, it's not like I have any other choice."

Finally we reached the twilight city of Treno, the rich section was all lit up beautifully, like thousands of floating candles on a tranquil lake, while the slums glowed dimly in the stark moonlight. I looked over at Sam, who seemed to be having trouble getting used to the fact that what she was looking at was actually real. She gazed over the city, taking in each sight that the city had to offer, before her face suddenly lit up.

"Hey, could we stop by the auction house?"

"For what reason?"

"I wanna see something."I shrugged.

"Sure, I suppose we could spare the time." I started to walk down the cobbled path before me, heading down towards the card stadium, which almost seemed to glow in the surrounding spotlights, highlighted in the dark night sky. The air was cool, with a light breeze brushing through the thin willowy trees, wafting their feathery limbs back and forth calmly. The uptight nobles were busy chatting amongst themselves, barely looking at anyone walking past the well kept garden areas, turning their nose up at anyone who was lower. I didn't care. I knew that I was practically royalty, yet I didn't want it to affect anything. I was fine living a normal life at that moment.

Before I knew it, we were outside the auction house. The alleys and streets nearby were dark, but I felt slightly comfortable bathed in the light of the grand mansion-like building. It had been five years since I'd last seen this place properly, when I was running away from Kuja, after being captured at Burmecia. Didn't seem like so long ago. We entered, the security guards kept a close eye on us. Understandably, we looked nothing like nobles, so I could realise why they were so suspicious, especially in a place like this, one massive den of thieves, bandits, murderers, and so on.

Inside, the building was even more magnificent, there were beautiful chandeliers hanging from a roof covered in old deco, cherubs all over the place. Assorted nobles were sat patiently bidding for some random antique at the front, but I could tell instantly that wasn't the reason she had come here. She was looking forlornly at the balcony, expecting someone to be there.

"Ah, I see." I murmured softly.

"I thought he'd be here."

"Well, he did try and blow up the planet. That would kinda put him on the top of every wanted list in existence."

"Wait a second, the story's already passed? That would mean he's dead right?"

"That's right."

"Oh darn."

"C'mon, we'd better head off for Alexandria. Wouldn't want to be late for the event of the century."

"What would that be?"

"It's a surprise, Zidane made me promise not to tell anyone."

"Awww, you can tell me!"

"No, I can't. You'll see soon enough.

Gargan Roo must have been the only place on Gaia that still had some Mist, even though the Iifa Tree had died years ago. The walls were moist, and covered in moss, making the whole place seem danker than usual. I twiddled with the levers by the platform, looking out into the misty tunnels to hear a faint screeching. A small cage wobbled down into view, full of a Gargant's favourite food, a type of weedy flower that it just couldn't resist. Sam yelped as the Gargant crawled into view, clomping loudly as it clung upside-down onto the vines on the roof. I held the cart in place while Sam got on, jumping on as the Gargant started to move off.

"Is this thing safe?"

"Of course, just relax." The gargant crawled along at a steady pace, but we suddenly jerked to a halt, a screeching roar coming from just up ahead. I looked down the tunnel and saw a faint serpent-like shape slithering into view.

"Err, you were saying?"

"Well, safe-ish."

* * *

What will our heroes do now? Will they ever make it back to Alexandria? What events await them there? Find out next time!

Ulthran


	4. Chapter 3: Disturbing News

Disclaimer: Nothing new here, check the previous disclaimers for other details.

AN: Wow, thanks to those who noticed that it was my birthday of the 26th May! Now I'm finally 17, huzzah! Anyway, in other news, I've just returned from The Netherlands, on a holiday to see a friend, who was also nice enough to put me up for the weekend. Thanks Sam!

On another note, I've got a blog now. I'll update it with information about upcoming chapters and other random information. Plus I get to rant! XP I'll plonk the link in my bio, so check it out!

Alright then, you've all heard enough my ramblings, let's get on with things!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Disturbing News**_

The huge snake like creature heaved it's way towards us on the gargant, hissing menacingly. I turned around to my frightened companion.

"Stay here, try not to fall out." With that, I volleyed over the edge of the carriage, launching a flare spell at the creature in mid-air. The spell hit it square in the face, provoking an ear-splitting scream from it's ravenous mouth. "Alright then, remember me you ugly little bugger?" It dove at me swiftly, slamming it's head on the carriage above.

"Ahhh!" The passenger cried out before tumbling over the side, landing with a thud just behind me.

"So much for staying in the carriage. Are you alright?" I said, absent-mindedly throwing a spell or two behind me, smiling slightly at the enraged roars it prompted.

"My arm hurts." She moaned, rolling around a little. Sure enough, I could see faint signs of blood running down her arm.

"_Better finish this quickly." _Kirjava commented. I nodded in agreement and turned around to the monster, who was now sporting another two burns on it's sapphire blue scaly body. It would take a good many spells to get through that scaly body, I thought to myself. I clicked my fingers as an idea burst into my head. I ran forward, dodging it's second thrust and dived to the side, around to it's back. The misty floor was cold on my skin, scraping my elbow slightly on the rocky surface as I quickly rose to my feet, slamming my blade down as hard as I could on it's back. Thankfully, I punctured it's outer shell, I teared open a wide open gash as it thrashed about, screaming in agony. I thruster my hand into the wound, grimacing at the disgusting wetness of it's insides. I concentrated, forcing a flare spell right into it's unprotected internal organs.

The results were a little more disgusting than I thought they would be, as it's entire abdomen evaporated in a bust of energy, spraying visceral pieces of flesh everywhere. The remains of it's upper body slumped heavily to the floor, while the force of the blast flung me backwards into the hard cold wall. I lay panting on the floor for a few seconds, covered from head to toe in thick black blood. I crawled to my feet, a little worn out from the intensity of the concentration that went into casting such powerful spells like Flare.

"Great, now I need a shower." I tutted, walking over to Sam, who was sat up, a few blood splatters across her face. Let's take a look at that arm, shall we?" I took her good hand and helped her up, then taking her bad arm in my hands to take a closer look at the wound.

"Is it bad?" She was trembling at the shock of the fall. I smiled a little.

"Nah, there's nothing broken or anything, just a nasty cut from the rocky floor." Suddenly, my head started to go a little dizzy. I let her arm go, slamming my palm into the side of head, but to no avail. I suddenly felt not only physically weaker, but something felt like it had been dragged out of me. Curiously, it felt like a wraith had just grabbed me, the same spiritual drain I had felt the night before.

"Are you okay, you went a little pale for a second there." She looked a little concerned, but I shook my head.

"Nah, just felt a little dizzy. It'll be because I've been casting spells a little too hard."

"_Chris, be careful. There's something not right here. Take a look at her aura." _I looked, and noticed that the normally blue-ish aura of a spirit from Earth was going a little purple.

"_What do you think?"_

"_I don't know, but I bet it had something to do with those wraiths. She might be infected, you know."_

"_What makes you think that?"_

"_Well, I sensed that your body's essence levels just dropped quite rapidly, but I can't see why. There was no discernible cause for it. Just be careful. The human body can only survive with a certain amount of spiritual essence occupying it. At this rate, you'll just simply shut down."_

"_Calm down, I'll be careful, alright?"_

"_Just don't over-exert yourself again, you'll need some time to regenerate."_ I helped Sam back up into the carriage, climbing up after her and sitting down, letting the Gargant continue on it's merry way. She was holding her arm in discomfort, wincing as she prodded the cut with interest. I reached into the small green bag I had been carrying around, producing a small vial filled with blue-ish liquid.

"Here." I gently took her arm and poured the miraculous liquid on her arm, watching as the cut started to draw together, leaving just a thin scar on her arm.

"Wow." She said, impressed. "Thanks."

"No probs. I can't do anything about that scar though."

"Alright." She looked down at the blemish. "I guess it'll remind me to be a little more careful in the future."

The city of Alexandria was pretty quiet that afternoon, much to my surprise. The normally jam-packed markets were dead to all but a few dedicated shoppers, the normal hustle and bustle of life had receded into a quiet murmur of peace and quiet. I looked around the main plaza, at the normally heaving hotel's lifeless surroundings. Jeez, it was a like a ghost town! With a jolt I suddenly realised why this was.

"Oh damn, he can't have..." I said in a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. I looked over to the castle and noticed what had been bugging me every since we had snuck out of Gargan Roo and through the castle. There were faint sounds of cheers and rejoicing.

"What?" Sam asked, looking around at the source of the sound.

"I think Zidane finally went and did it."

"Did what? Don't leave me hanging!"

"You'll find out in a minute, c'mon!" I jogged along reaching the moat around the castle. I could see over the calm aqua-blue waters a distant crowd of people. Curiously, I walked up to the guard standing duty by the boat, her armour glinting in the calm sunlight. "What's all the fuss about?" I asked innocently, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Have you been asleep for the day? The Queen has announced that she is going to wed Master Zidane!"

"Ah godammit! I didn't think he'd do it so soon."

"I take it this is what Zidane told you?" Samantha noted.

"Yeah, he'd been talking about it for a while now."

* * *

_The night air was cold against my skin as I sat by the tent, staring up at the night sky. The trip from the Iifa Tree had been difficult, despite my pleas for Zidane and Kuja to carry on without me, they'd decided to haul me along for the ride. Most of the horrific wounds on my body had started to heal, thanks to Kuja's potent magical abilities, and now I lay resting on the desert sand, still unable to move efficiently, staring into skies above._

"_How ya feeling?" Zidane asked, crouching down next to me, his head resting on his knees._

"_I'll sum it up in one word: Ow." I muttered, wincing slightly as I moved my leg, in an attempt to restored blood flow to it. It was at that point I realised that I could do one thing to stop this pain. I closed my eyes, concentrating on my soul, pulling my consciousness out of my body, lifting myself up and leaving my body down on the floor. Finally I opened my eyes, looking down at my prone shell, breathing gently in it's sleep._

_I often did this, wandering around in spirit form while my body rested. You can do twice as much as you normally can, since you can just let your body rest and your soul can carry on doing stuff. An extra burst of concentration allowed me to make myself visible to those in the material realm. Zidane barely looked surprised by this anymore, as I had already done it three times in front of him. In fact, I was getting quite proficient at astral projection now, I could limitedly move objects, communicate freely with the living, and other assorted novelties that a normal ghost would find nigh on impossible._

"_Better?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow._

"_Yeah, much better." He sighed, looking down at the floor in deep thought. I'd seen him like this before. In fact, he'd been like this ever since I'd woken up in the Iifa Tree's roots. I instinctively knew what the problem was, I was experiencing something similar. "Thinking about Dagger?"_

"_Yeah, she must think I'm dead by now." He frowned, flicking a bit of rock about in the chilled sands._

"_Don't worry, she won't forget you in a hurry. When we get back, everything will be fine."_

"_When will we get back, almighty Mr know-it-all?"_

"_Oh, I'd say about five years from now. I don't know what's going to happen in between these two points, but I definitely know that at least you make a triumphant return to Alexandria."_

"_Really? Oh, that's alright then. At least I'll get to see her again. There's something I have to do when I get back, something I've been thinking about a lot recently."_

"_Thinking about proposing?" He looked a little shocked for a second, but calmed down afterwards._

"_I should have guessed that you'd know that."_

"_Oh no, I didn't _know _that. That was a wild guess. I can see there's definitely something between you two." That much was true._

_The spiritual aura of a person can give away a lot about how they are feeling at that moment. When angry, a person's aura turns black with burning embers of deep blood red flickering around, while when it is happy, it is a lighter shade of that person's standard colour of spirit, like light green, or light blue. When two people are in love, the spirits can be seen actually meeting and bonding at some points, surrounding the two people in a bright glowing halo of luminescence. I had seen this when Zidane & Dagger where last together just outside the Hilda Garde III, so it didn't take much to guess that there were heavy feelings between them. Not to mention already knew that anyway, given the fact that I had played the game to death._

"_Ha...why waste your time on her? She'll only go and die, as will you eventually." Kuja decided to chip in with his point of view._

"_Well, that's not the point. It's kinda hard to explain." I spluttered in defence. He smiled in his usual way, turning around to look at the horizon._

"_You and your precious emotions. What a waste of energy."_

"_Ah, you'll understand someday. I know for a fact that there are some girls out there that would die to get their hands on you."

* * *

_

"Yeah, like me." Samantha grinned. I just laughed, standing to look at the crowd slowly dispersing. I was about to take a step forward before I was interrupted by my brain trying to jump out of my skull. I crouched down, grasping at my head in sheer agony.

"_AHHHH!" _Kirjava screamed.

"_What the hell's going on!"_

"_I don't know! Something's just—" _She was cut off mid-sentence and I felt a strange shift deep in my mind. Slowly like tar crawling down a hill, I felt another presence, another voice. My sight was becoming red from the unbelievable pain I was experiencing.

"_Kill her...Kill her...Kill her." _It repeated over and over again. That voice, it sounded so familiar, like a distant memory. My heart skipped a beat when my hand started to creep of it's own accord towards my dagger.

"_Get out of my head!" _I thought, but it was no use. Instead, I heard a distant laughter. It was horrifying, so cold and heartless.

"_Give me control." _My sight started to shift, like I was looking out from inside my own mind. I could faintly feel my hand grip the dagger's hilt.

"_No no no no no." _My heart was beating like an out of control drum, and I fought back, kicking and screaming at the alien thoughts. I started to feel exhausted, both mentally and physically, before I dropped into the depths of unconsciousness.

I groaned as a bright light began to pierce through the gap in my eyelids, slowly awakening from the deep slumber. It took a few seconds for my head to adjust as I opened my eyes. Quite surprisingly, I suddenly saw two guards pointing their swords directly at my throat.

"Whoa, what the heck is that for?" My head was already in a confused state. No matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn't remember how I had fallen asleep, let alone why two Alexandrian guards, dressed in full armour, were pointing their very sharp-looking swords towards a critical point on my body. I heard a rush of footsteps in the brightly lit room. It seemed like I was in some sort of hospital, perhaps inside Alexandria Castle, judging by the armed guards. Somehow, I got the feeling I wasn't the one being protected.

"Stand down!" I heard Dagger's voice ring clear, and the two guards looked at each other in confusion.

"Your majesty? He could be dangerous!"

"I said stand down, do not make me repeat myself once more."

"As you wish, your majesty."The two guards sheathed their swords and bowed, before leaving the room quietly. I swept the warm fluffy covers off me, noticing that I was still covered in blood. Oddly enough, however, while the monster's blood had been a thick black tar-like substance, there was clearly several smears of crimson blood down my shirt. I wasn't wounded anywhere, so where had it come from? My thoughts were interrupted by another rush of footsteps, this time Neil and Melissa burst in through the door, quietly followed by Vincent's ethereal figure.

"Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to you!" Neil burst out, looking from Dagger to me and back again. Melissa had a concerned look on her face, while Vincent stood just behind here, his face creased slightly in thought. However, he also seemed to be looking at another bed, just a few beds down the corridor opposite to me.

"I-I don't know. One minute, I'm outside with a major headache, the next I'm in here about to be sliced to pieces by these guards!" Dagger looked at me, a dead serious look in her eyes, but Vincent responded before her.

"You really don't remember what happened?" I half-expected him to be looking at me as if I was crazy, but he had the same old expression on his face, calm and collected.

"No, could you tell me." Dagger and Vincent looked at each other and took a step back, allowing me to see the bed just down the corridor.

"A guard informed us of what happened. I didn't believe it at first, but it's all true."

"What happened? Tell me!" I desperately tried to remember, but there was nothing but a blank over what should have been a memory. However, all concerns melted away instantly as I saw what was lying in the bed. I shook my head, unable to believe what I was seeing.

Lying in the bed down the corridor was Sam, still asleep. Her upper body was covered in bandages, through which I could see faint crimson marks. I grasped my head in my hands, questions spinning around in my mind.

"What have I done...?"

* * *

Well, that's it for now. You'll have to wait until next time to find out what happened! Until then, check my blog for updates on chapter progress, and other information (shameless plugging), it's on my bio under homepage!

Ciao, Ulthran


	5. Chapter 4: The Darkness Growing Within

Disclaimer: Okay, some new stuff today, I came up with the idea for the Destiny "Alpha" & "Beta" prototype airships, the city of Zion, the character Rayth Ulthran, everything in Zion and the Viper scout fighter (even though it's mentioned in passing, I still own it!).

A/N: This chapter doesn't exactly contain much action, but believe me, the next one will make up for it. ;-) Also, what's with the lack of reviews? C'mon peeps, I'll carry on regardless, but it would be nice to get a little feedback, even if it's bad. I promise I won't hold it against you! (hides shotgun). BTW, don't forget to check out the blog too! Get it slapped in your favourites!

* * *

_**Chapter 4: The Darkness Growing Within**_

I felt lost in guilt as I sat by Sam's bedside on that sunny day. Here was a girl who I had promised to protect and she had trusted me. So what did I do? According to eyewitnesses, I'd turned around and stabbed her six times in the chest. Some way to repay someone's trust, isn't it? She'd been revived twice during the night, both events were close calls, she nearly didn't make it this far. I turned to look at my ancestor's ethereal outline, his face creased slightly in thought, his brilliant blue eyes dulled slightly with concentration.

"How did this happen?" I asked him forlornly.

"Looks like it could have been possession, although I have no idea who could have possessed you, or what they would have stood to gain out of this." This made sense, as I had experienced a complete loss of control towards the point where I had fallen unconscious.

"How can I stop this from happening again?" He sighed, shaking his head.

"You can't. Short of destroying the person who is possessing you, you can't stop them from taking control of your body. You can fight it, but that will only delay the inevitable. Speaking of delaying the inevitable..." He looked down at Sam's prone form. "She won't last long in this state. The best hope she has for survival is if we moved her to Zion Central Infirmary." He turned to Dagger, who had now been joined by her husband-to-be. "With your permission of course, your highness." Dagger nodded in agreement.

"If your race is as technologically advanced as you claim, then it may be in her best interest. But how do you plan on moving her?"

"Oh don't worry about that, there's an airship that's been parked right outside this castle for the past day." Steiner, hanging around at the back, shook his head.

"I'm afraid there isn't, otherwise my patrols would have discovered it." Vincent chuckled for a second and pulled a small silver device out of his pocket. He held it to his mouth and tapped a button.

"Rayth, you can phase now if you like." He put the device away, indicating towards the window. "Take another look." We all crowded around the window, peering outside at the courtyard in disbelief.

Perched in the very middle of the courtyard was an airship that would rival the Hilda Garde III in size, it's sleek wings folded elegantly into it's body, the shining sun reflected of it's silver and black metallic body into the sky. On it's back and sides were mounted some pretty deadly-looking cannons, and what looked like vulcan cannons mounted up front and on the top. The front of the ship swept forward, revealing a transparently cased bridge containing all sorts of advanced looking equipment.

"Whoa." I commented, much impressed.

"The Alpha Prototype of the new Destiny class battleships. That one is kept for Council duties."

"And the guns?" Neil replied, raising an eyebrow. "That's a lot of firepower for a private vessel."

"Just in case we run into a little hostile negotiations. They're not too powerful, not compared to some of the new stuff we have on the next Beta prototype."

"Still, that's enough to level this entire castle." Melissa commented.

"It won't take too much though. The armour is still in the experimental stages, it can't withstand as much of a beating as the Thunderchild, or the Falcon class for that matter." I turned around and looked at the lost expressions that the assorted Gaians (and Terran) in the room were wearing.

"Ignore him, he's just showing off." I informed Dagger.

"_Runs in the family." _Kirjava chipped in.

"_Oh ha ha, very funny."_ I retorted sarcastically.

"I guessed as much. If I may, Vincent, could I send a few emissaries with you? I would come myself, but we have plans at the moment." She looked at Zidane, who was still admiring the Destiny.

"Ah yes, the wedding. Of course you can send a few of your people with us. We will return in time for the wedding ceremony."

"You guys done yet?" A voice came from the doorway. There stood a young-ish man with sharp silver hair, dressed entirely in black, so much so that he looked more like a shadow than a person. His face was paled and gaunt, his deep brown eagle eyes were focused directly on our group, while visible in his long coat's depths was a shining silver handgun, engraved with a deep blood red cross on the grip and at the end of the barrel. "I take it she's the one were taking back to Zion?" He nodded towards the bed.

"Yes Rayth, we'll get her loaded on immediately. Your highness, have you decided who you are sending as emissaries?" Vincent looked towards Dagger and Zidane, who were by now standing arm-in-arm by the window.

"Aldebert? Would you mind?"

"Not at all, your highness. In fact, it would be a honour." He bowed before his Queen.

"And Neil, could you go along too?"

"Sure."

"Keep in mind you two, it's not very often that the living get to see the great city." Vincent alerted them.

"Yeah, normally you'd be dead the first time you see Zion, so think yourselves lucky." Rayth added, standing up straight and bowing extravagantly, before leaving for the Destiny.

"Who is that guy?" I asked Vincent.

"Who, Rayth? Oh, he's my brother-in-law, and one of my most trusted friends. He's a little...unhinged, but I wouldn't have anybody else covering me in a fight.

"Is he always like that?"

"Pretty much. He keeps himself to himself, and he finds it hard to trust anyone. Hell, he didn't even trust me until I saved from certain death at the hands of my brother. But if he gets you in the sight of his rifle, you'd be better off just kneeling down and praying rather than running.

The Destiny looked just as impressive from within as it did from the outside, the walls coated in steel, but they were covered in artistic symbols and runes. I assumed they were meant to be some sort of blessing, to protect the crew from misfortune. Either that, or someone had an artistic streak one day.

Samantha had been laid in the medical bay, linked up to a myriad of machines monitoring everything from heart rate and brain activity, to essence levels and viral containment. It was quite a sobering sight, but nothing I hadn't seen before. In fact, the victim of a wraith attack had been one of the most distressing things I had ever seen.

* * *

_It was a cloudy day in Lindblum, the skies above were rumbling ominously, threatening to soak everything beneath them. The main street in the Business District was practically empty, save from a few dedicated shoppers, who were constantly glancing at the heavens, trying to anticipate when they would open. I kept my face hidden beneath the hood of my cloak. If someone I knew happened to be hanging around, then our cover would be blown and that would severely cock up out plans for a grand entrance at Alexandria. I started to make my way towards the Aircab station, to meet up with Zidane and Kuja in the Theatre District, when I heard shouts behind me. A middle-aged man dressed in clothes that suggested that he was a commoner was dragging a young woman along, her feet limply scraping on the cobbled floor as he helped her along. His eyes were filled with panic, looking from person to person for help._

"_My god..." I heard Kirjava say, as a small moth inside my hood. I ran over to aid the man, helping him lower her to the floor. The woman was pretty, her features were filled with youth. The expression on her face was one of incredible pain and shock._

"_What happened?" I asked the panicked man, who by now had tears in his eyes._

"_I-I don't know! She was helping me with the flowers and she started to have some sort of fit! Please, please help her, she's my only daughter." He was beside himself with fear. I looked down at the girl. She seemed to have no physical injuries, but it was when I took a look at her spirit when I recoiled in shock._

_To say that it was in tatters would be an understatement, there were frenzied slash marks all over the place, and to make matters worse, it was fluctuating in and out of existence. She had started to shudder uncontrollably, and I realised with great sorrow that she was already done for. Her spirit was trying to heal itself, but was leaking so much essence that it had simply started to die in the vain effort. However, I figured if I could just manage to heal some of the wounds that her soul has sustained then it may allow her death to be slightly more comfortable. I placed my hands down on her stomach, concentrating hard, pulling together tears in the matter that made up a soul._

_Suddenly, I felt a jolt, like a powerful burst of electricity, and I recoiled quickly. Her soul was slowly starting to turn a deep purple, and I realised just what had happened. She must've been attacked by a wraith, which is why her father had seen nothing attack her. She shuddered some more, her leg twitching as her body gave up the fight to the wraith infection, finally growing still and staring blankly into the sky. I placed my hand on her neck, checking for any sign of a pulse, but I already knew what was coming. Her body had no spiritual aura whatsoever, the wraith had completely devoured it. It was an incredibly sobering thought when I realised that this was the complete end for her. She would never enter the spirit realm, she would never experience the afterlife. I shook my head, and her father burst into tears, his body wracked with grief. I stood up, and as if on cue, raindrops started to patter onto the ground.

* * *

_

I awoke from my reverie with a jolt, as I heard someone come in behind me. I turned around to see Melissa, who was also looking at the prone form in the bed.

"She's from Earth?" I nodded. I shivered as she placed her soft hand gently on my shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, you couldn't help yourself." I shook my head.

"She trusted me, and I went and did this. What if it happens again? I could end up killing someone!"

"Don't worry about it. Besides, if it does happen again, I'll make sure to give you a good smack over the head."

"I just don't want to hurt anyone, I'd never forgive myself if I did."

"Just relax. We'll figure out something to stop it."

"_Not if it's who I think it is." _Kirjava chirped in, her voice filled with concern. I was about to reply when Rayth popped his head in through the doorway.

"We're getting ready for take-off, so if you don't want to end up breaking your legs against that wall over there, I suggest you sit down and buckle up." With that, he popped back, his light footsteps echoing down the corridor. We took his advice and sat down in the seats next to the window. While I was buckling myself in, I saw the distant figures of Dagger, Zidane and Beatrix stood watching by the main gates to the castle. In fact, there was a large crowd of assorted guards and castle staff gathering around to watch the strange new vehicle, even some of the dead were watching with a mild interest, invisible to those around them.

Suddenly, I felt the floor beneath me start to hum ominously, and a whirring sound started outside the transparent material of the window, causing members of the crowd to stir nervously. Right then, my stomach was left on the ground as the entire airship lifted up spontaneously, the humming increasing in frequency until it was a high pitched squeal. I felt the ship start to lean backwards slightly as it rose, and Melissa shouted in surprise the scenery around us turned into a sharp blur, and I was thrown back and pinned in my chair through the sheer acceleration that had begun. I turned my head laboriously towards my fellow companion, who was slightly pale in her seat. I heard a stunningly loud boom, and the ship shuddered slightly before becoming almost entirely still.

"What was that just now?" I heard her shout over the barrage of sound flying at us from every direction. I paused for a second as I realised I had just experienced something that most people will never get to live through. I grinned madly.

"I think we just broke the sound barrier!"

Time seemed to blur for me at that point, much like the scenery outside. One minute, we had just completed the take off, the next I was standing on the bridge looking out of the front with the others.

"_There she is..."_ Kirjava said in wonder. I looked at the collective expressions of awe on the groups faces as we approached our destination.

"It's...amazing." Steiner seemed gobsmacked.

"It's fantastic." Melissa murmured breathlessly.

"It's bloody huge!" Neil commented. They were all right too. I had only ever visited Zion once in real life, although I had been there a few times in my assorted visions. Even then, I had never had the privilege of viewing the last remaining great city of the dead from above. There weren't words to describe it.

Zion seemed to span out across the entire horizon, it's crystalline beauty had no bounds. In fact, the whole city seemed to be built of light, yet it was not a blinding light like the sun, but a calm benevolent glow, like the moon. In the very centre of the city was a colossal pillar of the purest light, reaching right into the heavens above, bathing the metropolis in it's calm glow. It was truly a sight to behold, and yet I knew that there were those out there who wished to destroy all of this.

Well, at least there _had_ been. Now there was practically nothing left of the forces of the darkness that once had sought to wipe us out, to raze this last outpost of spirits to the ground, to _slaughter_ every last one of us.

My train of thought was interrupted by a soft crackling at the front of the bridge, which itself was a teeming mass of technology. Lights blinked from every panel, like something out a science fiction movie, yet it seemed more natural than the metallic lifeless material that the movies make it out to be. The crackling faded, and a transparent image of a young man popped up over the bridge's main window. He had a green-brown-ish shade of eyes, and his dark brown hair was well-kept and neat. His uniform consisted of a black cotton top at least, but I couldn't see anything below his mid-torso. Steiner looked amazed at the screen, which was completely understandable. Hell, they didn't have electricity in Gaia, so it wouldn't be surprising if his brain suddenly exploded from technology overload.

"_It's good to have you back, my lord."_ He said, a broad smile on his face. I could vaguely see faint lights and panels behind him.

"It's good to be back. Are we cleared for landing?"

"_Certainly, Hangar 17B." _He looked down Rayth, who was right up front piloting the ship, and his face fell slightly. _"Erm, I'll have a fire crew standing by too."_ He said, before disappearing.

"Why do I get the feeling that something is about to go wrong?" Melissa pointed out.

"Ignore him, he just doesn't trust my piloting skills." Rayth muttered, drawing the Destiny out to the right slowly.

"I think he has good reason to be a little worried. Remember what happened when you were landing the Viper a few months ago?" Vincent looked up in thought. Rayth smirked slightly.

"Honestly, you make one slight miscalculation and no-one ever forgets it."

"A _slight_ miscalculation? You missed the landing area by 400 metres and landed on a highway instead!"

"Well you have to admit I landed it pretty well under the circumstances."

"If I remember correctly, you landed a 40 ton scout fighter on top of a small van."

"Still, I landed it didn't I?" Mysteriously, I started to feel a little nervous about our approach into Zion.

Luckily, we landed in the gigantic hangar bay without incident, if by without incident, you mean just clipping the wall on the way in and scratching the Destiny's paintwork. Parked nearby was a red truck-like vehicle which I could only assume was the fire crew sent to make sure we didn't accidentally blow the entire place up, and a car closely followed by a white van. The van had a symbol on the side showing a heart with a stitch in it, which I could only assume was an ambulance. I watched as a man and a woman got out of the sleek white vehicle, both wearing pure white outfits, and walked into the Destiny. I shot a look at Vincent and Rayth, who were talking quietly amongst themselves, at Steiner, who seemed to be in a consistent state of speechless shock. Meanwhile, Neil and Melissa were looking quietly impressed, and even I couldn't help but feel in awe about this city. If you want a general scale, then the airport we had just landed in was just slightly bigger than the entire area of Lindblum. Just let that sink in for a second. An airport the size of the biggest city in Gaia, and this was just one of two main airstations, not to mention all the minor ones that were hanging around. In fact, a better way to describe Zion would be to just to look at a country like Wales, and imagine the entire place covered in city. Do you see it now?

"_It's good to be home finally."_ With a quick jerk, I felt Kirjava appear next to me, but this time something was different. She hadn't taken the form of any sort of animal, but instead she now appeared fully human, complete with a golden brown head of hair, a similar shade to mine, sparkling blue eyes, and a few spatterings of freckles near her nose. In fact, she could have easily been mistaken for my sister. She was a wearing a pure white dress that ended near her feet, and a white shoulderless sweater, covered by a black spiderweb poncho.

"_I didn't know you could do that."_

"_It's our natural form while were in the presence of the Light Crystal. Happens with everyone."_

Rayth and Vincent finished chatting and Rayth strode over to us.

"Oh joy, looks like I'm on tour duties." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Where's Vincent going?" I asked him.

"He's accompanying the girl to the hospital, and then he has to go to a council meeting. A lot of worrying events have been happening recently."

"Like what?"

"Ah, I'm sure he'll explain later." Rayth seemed to be avoiding something, but I wasn't exactly bothered about pressing ahead with any more questions. "First, we'll get you lot to your rooms, get some rest in before tomorrow."

* * *

_Flashing images seared through my mind, like a slide machine gone out of control. I saw fire, lots of fire. Buildings I recongised. Flash. Now blossom falling from a tree over a small gathering. Flash. A cold high laugh, the one I had heard before becoming possessed._

_I stood by the door to a hospital ward, the surfaces clinically sterile, a blinding white. In a bed at the end of the ward, I saw a familiar figure lying completely still in a bed. On closer inspection, I saw that it was myself, barely a mark on me. Beside the bed was Melissa, her eyes puffy as if she had just been crying. What had happened?_

_Suddenly, I heard the laugh again, and my hand (the real me, the one in the bed) shot up and grabbed her by the throat, throwing her against the wall._

"_What are you doing?" I screamed at myself, as the other me climbed out of the bed, grabbing a surgical knife from the table opposite the bed. Before she could react, he (I couldn't even refer to him as even remotely like myself, it was a completely different person) had rammed the small blade into her gut, twisting it from side to side, prompting a blood curdling scream from Melissa, deep red blood dripping onto the contrasting white floor.

* * *

_

I awoke screaming, covered in a cold sweat. I panted heavily, I didn't even want to think about what I had just witnessed. Could it have been another prophecy? If it was, then I'd rather kill myself now than do that to Melissa. I climbed out of the bed, walking over to the window, looking out over the beautiful view, before realising that I had seen this before. In a dream long ago, I had stood in this exact position, gazing out over the city of Zion. It was completely calm outside, not a soul in sight, an eerie calm stretched across the city. I guessed even the dead needed to sleep too. Reluctantly, I climbed back into bed, and prayed that I didn't see anything like I had before.

The next day, much to my relief, Rayth announced that Sam was making a steady recovery, and that I could go and visit if I liked. While he took the others on a tour of the Buisness Sector, he dropped me off at the hospital, the very same one I had visited five years ago when I was being examined for precognitive cells in my brain. I made my way inside and I saw Vincent standing by the entrance to a corridor. The entire place was clinical white, making my eyes hurt slightly as I had walked in.

"Sleep well?" He asked. I rubbed my eyes as if to emphisise the point I was about to make.

"Not really, I had some more dreams." He nodded in acknowledgment.

"Anything important?" I fumbled for a second. Should I tell him?

"Well, I had another dream where I was possessed. I...kind of hurt someone very important to me."

"Ah right. Come with me." He indicated to follow him, so I did so, walking down the twisting maze of corridors until we got to a particular door, which Vincent just pushed aside, and led the way inside.

Samantha was looking a whole lot better, the bandages had been removed, and now a few thin scars could be seen on her shoulder and neck. However, she was still completely unconscious, visibly breathing deeply, as if asleep. A young nurse nodded at Vincent, and promptly picked up the clipboard she was writing on and left, leaving just the three of us in the room.

"Take a look at this." He jabbed a screen by the side of her bed, bringing up a three dimensional model of her spirit. "This was taken when she had just got in here..." The image showed the familiar green glow of an Earth spirit, slightly tinted purple. "...and this was a few hours later." He jabbed the screen again, this time the image was noticeably more purple, a light tint of green remaining.

"What does all that mean?"

"Something dark is growing inside her. I think one of the wraiths that attacked her left a little something behind, and it's corrupting her entire spirit." He pointed down at her. "Try holding her hand."

Puzzled, I sat down by the bed and took her hand. It was incredibly cold, and had paled considerably, for reasons I couldn't quite fathom. Suddenly, I started to feel a little dizzy, almost falling off my chair. I quickly let go.

"What the heck was that?" I inquired.

"I think it may be more visible if I did it." He reached out his hand, placing it just by her's. I jumped in shock as it completely disappeared from view, turning into a fine mist and vanishing into her hand. "It's just like a wraith feeding, absorbing the soul of it's prey. However, it seems that the virus that wraiths usually leave behind in victims had started to bond with her DNA, altering her body and soul slightly."

"So you mean she's part wraith now?"

"In essence, yes. I've never seen anything like this though." He looked thoughtful. Suddenly, I heard a stirring, and noticed that she had started to rouse herself. Her eyes slowly opened, but widened with terror when she noticed who was standing in front of her. Frantically, she yelped and rolled out of the side of the bed, hitting the floor with a crash.

"Ahh! Don't hurt me!"She rolled under the bed, shivering with fright. I looked down at the floor in embarrassment. I could understand why she was so terrrified of me.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you." I knelt down, looking under the bed. She was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, her eyes not leaving me for a second.

"W-why did you do that to me!" She shrieked, still shaking with shock and fear.

"Long story short, I couldn't control myself. I'm sorry." She remained silent. This was going to take some explaining. I quickly ran through everything I knew about the situation, including her current condition.

"So you're saying that I'm one of them wraith things, the ones that attacked us the other night?"

"Well, basically, yes." Again she remained silent, before slowly climbing out from under the bed. She stood up, looking at the hospital gown she was wearing.

"Your clothes are in the cabinet beside you, but I wouldn't recommend wearing them. The top's practically shredded." Vincent informed. Again, I looked at the floor guiltily. "However, I could get a nurse to go out and get you some new clothes." She nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." With that, Vincent left and left the two of us alone. "So...any idea who it was who possessed you then. More importantly, why did they want me dead?"

"Oh, I have my suspicions. None of them have been backed up yet though." There was an awkward silence.

"Where am I though, and who was that?"

"You'd better sit down, this is going to take a while to explain..."

* * *

Right then, that should do for this chapter. Some action in the next chappie, so be prepared. Until then, please read and review, and keep checking the blog for progress updates. I hope to be drawing some pictures of the main characters soon too, so I'll be putting them up there when I'm done.

Bye bye!

Chris/Ulthran


	6. Chapter 5: Holy Matrimony!

Disclaimer: Okay dokey, I created Draco Heald, along with everything in Zion, the Reapers, Operation Rebirth, the Imaginary Numbers, the Spirit Council and the Great War, which means I ownz them! Everything else, I'm either borrowing from Square-Enix, or using it from something else that I do not own. Please note that this is just an add-on from the previous disclaimers, so make sure you read those before attacking me with your law ninjas!

A/N: Lot's of action in this chapter, plus a few plot developers chucked in for good measure! I've had a few developments in my own life too, but you don't really want to know about that, do you? If you actually do, check out my blog for further details. (shameless plug alert!) By the way, thanks for the reviews peeps! I knew you could be persuaded somehow! (puts the shotgun away...for now.) Just make sure you don't forget this time, okay?

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Holy Matrimony!**_

The final stop on our little tour of Zion was by far the most amazing sight I had ever seen, shattering the records set by Memoria, Terra, Lindblum and Kuja's Desert Palace. The spirits that knew about it simply called the site 'Rebirth', and it was named this for good reason.

It was a set of fields just towards the edge of the city, the location of the last battle in the Great War. It was also the location that the most defenders fell, saturating the ground beneath them in spiritual essence. As a result, the entire place gave off a faint glow, misty wisps rose smoothly from the ground in seemingly random locations. The area seemed to give off a calm aura, lightening the souls of all who were nearby, who were mostly pilgrims from all corners of both Earth and Gaia.

"This is where we fought the Gemini forces for the last time." Rayth commentated to our little group. Steiner just seemed to be in a general state of awe, Neil was listening intently to what was being said, Samantha was admiring the view in silence, and Melissa was sat cross legged beside her, also admiring the landscape.

"The Gemini forces?" Steiner turned from the landscape and looked at Rayth, who viewed him with a passive gaze.

"Yes, our sworn enemies. They were led by Vincent's brother, Draco, and were mostly made up of Imaginary Numbers." He looked upon the group, all of which looked back as though he was speaking another language. He looked up at the sky and sighed. "The Imaginary Numbers were clones, but Draco could never figure out how to clone the spirit itself. Therefore, they were completely soulless, merciless in battle. You could blow all of their limbs off and they'd come at you with their teeth, following orders to the bitter end. It was here that the Reapers, our special forces, launched Operation Rebirth, hoping strike back at the advancing Gemini forces. They succeeded, but were almost entirely wiped out process." He closed his eyes in memory. "It was terrible. I can never forget what happened that day."

"You were there?" Melissa asked, getting to her feet. He nodded solemnly.

"It wasn't even a battle, it was a massacre. We took more military losses here than in the entire war. Vincent and myself had to cut our way through, we aimed to take out Draco and put a quick end to things. I only wish it had been that easy."

"So what happened then?" I asked, my interest perked up.

"We got to him, and he killed both of us. However, we managed to break open a hole in the barrier between the spirit realm and Erebus, and trapped him there. The Imaginary Numbers just stopped functioning after that, just stood there and died slowly." I looked across the landscape, trying to imagine the scale of the battle that had taken place here. So many gone in the space of a few hours. It was a highly saddening thought.

"So, he's not coming back then?" Sam turned to the silent figure behind us, fiddling with her new gloves. We'd figured that if she didn't want to kill us all, then she'd be better off wearing something over her hands to stop her from accidentally absorbing our souls. Rayth was completely silent, looking at the floor in deep thought. After a few seconds he looked up, shaking his head.

"We don't know, that's what Vincent's discussing with the Council. We've recorded quite a lot of fluctuations in the barriers separating each world recently. That's how you ended up here." He indicated to the humans amongst the group." He looked down at his wrist and looked to the sky. I became aware of a vague whooshing sound. "Right on time." He muttered before pulling out a long red object from his long coat. He cracked the top of it, and I realised that it was a flare, it's bright red glow lighting the area in the dark moonlit night. Moments later, the Destiny swept magnificently over our heads, swinging back and touching down swiftly, it's cargo door lowering to allow us on board. I saw Vincent climbing down the ramp, beckoning quickly.

"Come on already! We've got a wedding to get to!"

I stared blankly out of the window in the viewing platform under the ship, watching the landscape beneath me with vague interest. My mind was buzzing with thoughts, mostly about my possession problem, when I felt the familiar presence behind me.

"What's wrong? You've been like this for the entire trip." Melissa noted, her calm, soft voice soothing my nerves slightly.

"I've been having some pretty nasty visions of late." I explained, telling her about the one involving her and a close encounter with a surgical scalpel. She looked a little concerned.

"Ah, it won't happen. Just don't worry."

"Just promise me one thing. If I...if I lose control and try to hurt you, do what you must to stop me." She blinked in shock.

"You mean you want me to...kill you?" I nodded slowly.

"I'd rather die than cause any more harm to any of you. Especially you. What happened in Alexandria was far too close for comfort."

"Isn't there something you can do to stop it?"

"Nope, nothing short of killing whoever is responsible for all this." She shook her head in disbelief.

"This is crazy! I can't kill you!"

"You won't be killing me, because I won't _be_ me anymore. It'll just be someone else using my body. Besides, I'd rather die my your blade than any other way."

"But it won't..." She was speechless with shock, her bottom lip trembling slightly. I felt terrible for telling her to kill me, but what else could I do? We stood in silent thought, watching as the city of Alexandria slowly grew larger on the horizon.

I stepped off the Destiny, as everyone else rushed past. The sun was shining high in the sky, and it was a truly beautiful day. Suddenly, some soldiers, dressed in full armour, charged up to us.

"My my, we're pushing it aren't we?" Beatrix's voice echoed across the courtyard. "The ceremony's about to start, so you'd better hurry. Vincent nodded, and turned to Rayth.

"Could you help out General Beatrix with guard duties?" He asked. "Just in case." He added hastily. Rayth seemed to understand completely, and nodded in agreement before jogging back up the ramp, returning a few seconds later with his rifle.

It was a beauty of a weapon, slenderly curved and perfectly balanced. He had stripped most of the added extras, leaving just the bare nessescities of sniper rifle left; just the gun and the scope. He cocked it over his shoulder, looking at the general, who was also dressed in full armour, the Save The Queen hanging by her side in it's sheath. She nodded at the ethereal warrior, and led Steiner and Rayth away.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Christmas?" Neil led us down a few back alleys, leading us out into the open, in the Resting Place, where I could see the grave of Queen Brahne just to the left of the seats that had been laid out in the shade of a couple of old oak trees. It looked quite romantic, as open air weddings mostly do, with the makeshift altar at the front, an aisle made between the seats leading towards it. Most of the seats had already been taken, a multitude of nobles, royalty and other assorted members of the kingdoms of Gaia. I could even spot Mikoto sat quietly towards the front, next to the large bulky form of a black mage. Just a few seats along sat the sons of Vivi, fidgeting nervously. I smiled slightly. Like father, like son, as the saying goes.

We took our places, I sat down towards the front next to Freya, who looked upon the whole thing with a smile on her face. Her traditional dragon knight outfit was cleaned up slightly, obviously for the special occasion. Amarant was hanging around near the back somewhere, preferring to stand against one of the trees that shaded the whole affair. Eiko could be spotted sat next to Regent Cid and Lady Hilda, along with Bruce, who was dressed in the traditional dark knight armour, glinting in the sunlight. Quina was taking up two chairs in the middle, easily spotted in the crowd around it, tongue hanging out as per usual. However, I could vaguely spot a cloaked figure standing in the trees just behind Amarant, but I wasn't worried. I knew exactly who that would be.

Up at the front, stood next to the nervous looking groom, stood Blank, dressed up for the occasion in his usual thief clothing. Zidane was looked like he was going to faint any second, his face paler than usual, wearing a rather nice-looking waistcoat.

Suddenly, everyone stood up and turned to look behind them. In a rush to stand too, I almost tripped into a middle-aged cat-like noble beside me. He looked at me in distaste, before continuing to look at the back. I turned to see Dagger slowly making her way down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning in the long silky wedding dress. I could spot her smiling through the veil, and my guess is that Zidane saw this too, because he seemed to instantly calm down, a warm smile making it's merry way across his face.

The wedding ceremony went well, but I've never been a great fan of official events. In fact, it was only when the was a loud applause that I realised I was falling asleep. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, clapping along with the others. My guess was that it had just ended, as Zidane lifted the veil and gave his new wife a loving kiss.

Awwww. Isn't it cute?

The applause started to die away, but I became aware of movement at the end of the aisle. I turned to see what was causing the fuss, and my heart froze. Amarant was slumped against the tree, and seemed unconscious, while a figure slowly walked down the aisle. The man had ancient markings tattooed along his cheek and up onto his brow, like some sort of ancient tribesman would have. His hair was jet-black, and his facial features were very similar to Vincent's. However, it was his cold emerald eyes that froze my heart. They were filled with a cunning look, and gave the impression of a heartless soul. His body was swathed in a dark black cloak, lined with deep crimson red. He was applauding slowly, in a steady rhythm. Clap. Clap. Clap, almost in perfect sync with his steps.

"There's nothing better than a good wedding, wouldn't you say brother?" His voice was chilling as he looked straight at Vincent, who had stood up and stepped out into the aisle, standing between the newlyweds and this chilling man.

"Why don't you just go back to hell?" Vincent spoke out loudly. Just behind the figure, I could see Alexandrian soldiers moving into position.

"Now that's no way to treat family!" He exclaimed, a terrifying grin on his face.

"You're no brother of mine. You killed him over two hundred years ago, all that's left is the shell you inhabit now. You sicken me Draco!" In one swift movement, Draco had pulled out an ancient looking crossbow and fired off a bolt at one of soldiers behind him, nailing her through the head in a single shot without even looking. The others froze in their tracks, waiting silently for his next move. He swung the bow and pointed it towards Vincent.

"So much for trying to cut down on killing. I was just starting to get over the addiction too. " He looked around at the nobles, who cringed away under his gaze. He still wore the same mad grin as he spoke. "Tell me, what would be the general effect on this planet if I killed everyone in this ceremony?" He gaze suddenly stopped when he reached our little group, his eyebrow raised in interest. "Ah, so these are the ones destined to defeat me? His gaze moved from one of us to the other, until it finally rested on me, and I fought to maintain eye contact with this terrifying man. "The heir to the Spiritseer throne too, eh? Well, enough chit-chat. I came here to do something, and I plan on completing it." He pulled out a small communicator and held it to his mouth. "Kill everyone, leave them for the crows."

I jumped up from my seat as a dozen figures appeared from thin air, surrounding the ceremony. Nobles started to scream and shout at the monstrosities that had just arrived, people I could only guess were Imaginary Numbers.

They were just terrifying as their creator, their lifeless blank eyes staring at all their targets in front of them, their bodies covered in the same type of armour that the assassin at the Festival Of The Hunt had been wearing. Mounted on their arms were lethal-looking blades that were about twice the length of the forearm, linked with what seemed to be some sort of firearm.

Right about then, all hell broke loose.

There was a distant crack, followed by a high-pitched whine as a clone's head decided to spontaneously explode in a suitably gory fashion. At the same moment, most of the nobles present scrambled to their feet, screaming and shouting, pushing and shoving in an attempt to escape. I phased and charged forwards towards the nearest clone, diving back into the material realm and thrusting my dagger straight into the soft flesh of it's back. It swung it's bladed arm in a wild arc at me, which I dodged and removed my blade, effortlessly pushing it into the spinal cord, hearing a satisfying wet 'crack!'. It jerked once and fell to the floor completely motionless. I heard several bangs as two of the clones opened fire on the advancing guards, killing most of them in an instant. I swept my eyes through the carnage, looking for my comrades in the mangled mess of a crowd. I could faintly spot a huge sword swinging around, complete with blood splatters flying out in every direction, which I could only guess was Bruce.

I waded in, blowing a clone apart with a well-aimed flare spell, spreading gunky red mess all over the place, while slowly but surely, most of the nobles began to escape, exposing those who were fighting desperately. On hindsight, it was a bit stupid for Draco to attack a place where all of the warriors who had saved the world from a maniac were gathered.

I noticed the cloak figure that had been standing by the trees break into a run, straight into the battle, instantly eviscerating the two clones that had been standing nearby. I quickly flicked my head to the left as I saw a small black object fly at incredibly high velocities towards my face, watching as it grazed my cheek , a stinging pain accompanying the projectile. I stared directly at it's origin, staring straight into those terrifying eyes.

"It's a pity you weren't conscious to see what I did to that girl. It was so satisfying to see that fear in her eyes." He smirked. I fought with the overwhelming 'kill everything' factor that often accompanied my magical capabilities in times of great anger. "How about a replay?" He turned to point his crossbow at Sam, who was currently standing confused in the middle of the ceremony turned battlefield. Before I had a chance to react, the ink-black cloaked figure dived at her, throwing both of them to the floor. While Draco was distracted, I threw the strongest thunder spell I could conjure up at him. Bright crackling arcs of blinding light shot straight at him, only to bounce harmlessly away as soon as they hit him, completely blowing away a clone that happened to be attacking a guard nearby.

"Ah...that wasn't supposed to happen." I commented nervously, as I saw him charging up his own spell to fire at me, his hands glowing ominously. Seconds later, he unleashed a massive inferno of fire in my general direction, laughing while he did so. I dived to the floor in a vain attempt to dodge this wall of burning vengeance, but when the scorching flames had passed, I opened my eyes tentatively to find that the ground was scorched black everywhere except the exact position that I was lying in. "You missed me?" It was at that point I noticed Neil standing next to Dagger and Zidane with his arm outstretched in my direction.

"Jeez, you really are an idiot. Haven't you ever heard of Shell?" He shouted.

"Oh. Um, thanks!" I nodded at him and leapt into action while Draco was distracted by Freya and Quina, who had begun attacking him in a mad frenzy. I crawled between the smoking chairs and scorched earth over to where Sam and the cloaked figure were lying, also handily shielded by a protective spell.

"You two all right?" I asked, panting from lack of breath. The cloaked figure swept back the hood on his cloak and looked at me, also out of breath. "Hey Kuja. Long time, no see."

"Likewise." He replied with a nod, his silvery hair glinting in the sunlight. "You weren't under the impression that I'd miss my own brother's wedding, were you?"

"Not at all, but it looks a little hectic at the moment, doesn't it?" I ducked as a fire spell shot over our heads and landed harmlessly in the castle's clear blue moat, fizzing angrily. Meanwhile, Sam lay there staring in shock at the ex-angel of death.

"What's her problem?" He asked, looking at the stock-still human lying next to him.

"Oh, she's a fan of yours."

"She seems to be giving me an unnatural amount of attention. It's quite unnerving actually."

"Well you definitely don't want to go to Earth then." His expression perked slightly.

"Speaking of Earth, there's something I have to--" He was cut off as a clone dived onto us, slashing wildly. Seconds later, if it had a sentient form of intelligence, it would have definitely regretted it. I watched as it's flaming, twitching body flew in a graceful arc and landed in the moat, bobbing up and down in the aqua-blue water.

"Tell me later, we've got to solve a few problems first." He nodded in agreement before bursting to his feet, throwing the cloak off to reveal his usual set of clothing, the purest white and purple garments, silver feathers fluttering in his hair. I turned to Sam, who still seemed to be in shock about the whole thing.

"...buh..." She muttered in awe, watching him blow away another clone with a highly charged thunder spell, it's body jerking like an out of control flesh puppet.

"C'mon, we'd better get you somewhere safe." I pulled her to her feet, helping her through the twisted burnt out remains of chairs and decorations. I sat her down in the treeline, quite a distance away from the melee taking place. I told her to stay put and charged straight back in, tripping a clone up and bringing down my blade straight into it's chest, cracking through the sinister armour and into it's very heart, if such a beast had one. I felt the hilt jerk as the heart hit it's death throes and promptly stopped beating, before tearing the sharp blade back out of it's body, followed by a weak squirt of blood. I looked up and saw Draco marching purposely through the chaos towards the altar, where Dagger and Zidane stood, closely guarded by the combined forces of Steiner, Beatrix and Neil.

"_Well, he's screwed. That's the three best fighters this side of Gaia, he doesn't stand a chance against them." _I thought.

"_You're talking about a heartless monster that single-handedly killed Vincent, Rayth, and countless hundreds of spiritseers, not to mention at least half of the Reapers. All by himself. You really think they'll be able to stand in his way?" _Kirjava noted from half-way across the field of battle, while ripping a clone in half in her dragon form.

"_Ah."_ That was the best response I could come up with as I watched him approach the altar.

"Back, demon!" Steiner shouted, pointing his sword straight at Draco's throat. He raised and eyebrow and blasted the knight aside with a bright blue magic attack, throwing him smoking into the reeds near the moat.

"You two better not waste my time. I have a job to do, y'know?" He turned his withering gaze on Beatrix and Neil.

"Give it your best shot!" Neil yelled, swinging his machete at towards Draco's unprotected body. This would have worked too, if said person hadn't cast a protective spell beforehand, the blade bouncing harmlessly of the pale blue barrier between them. A second later, both warriors were sailing through the air, landing heavily on the hard, unforgiving ground. Zidane stood between Draco and Dagger, staring straight into the eyes of the attacker, and I noticed Dagger had closed her eyes, muttering some sort of prayer under her breath.

Yeah, like that was going to help.

"You ain't going anywhere." Zidane growled, raising his fists.

"Completely unarmed and still you stand against me? Isn't it strange how the signs of love so closely resemble those of insanity?" Draco raised his crossbow at Zidane. "Get out of the way, and I might make your death as painless and as quick as possible. All I want to do is kill her, that's all. You don't have to die needlessly." His voice made me cringe in fear, but Zidane seemed completely unaffected.

"Over my dead body!" He muttered threateningly. Draco laughed coldly.

"That can be arranged." However, before he could go anything, he was eclipsed by a massive shadow. In fact, everyone who was fighting was eclipsed by the savior that had suddenly appeared.

The King Of Dragons had just entered the fray.

Draco looked almost impressed at Bahamut, who was beating his graceful yet terrifyingly deadly wings, hovering ominously just above the moat. "Hmmm, this could be a minor setback." He muttered, before looking back at Dagger and Zidane. "You got off lightly this time, but mark my words. This universe will perish, taking all of your kind with it." He tapped a button on his hand and vanished into thin air, along with the rest of the Imaginary Numbers, the ones that had survived that is.

The valiant warriors were left scattered around the place, some panting heavily with exhaustion, some tending to the wounded, some completely knocked unconscious. I limped over to Melissa and Vincent, who had been fighting back to back for the past five minutes.

"What the heck was all that about?" I demanded, nursing the cut in my leg that the suicidally brave clone had given me, before being launched fifty feet into the air, covered in flames. Vincent looked completely calm and collected, as if he hadn't done a thing. Heck, even his clothes weren't wrinkled. At least being dead had it's perks, you didn't have to breathe, for example, so you never felt out of breath.

"I don't know, but my brother's return can only bring grave news."

"I thought he was dead?"

"No, we just trapped him in Erebus, an alternate version of the spirit realm. I believe that you call it Hell."

"So now he's back. What's he planning now?"

"Well, my first thought would be that he would want to pick up where he left off. But this attack today screws up that theory. It seems completely random.

"He seemed pretty interested in Dagger." I noted.

"Yes, I had noticed that too. I'm going to need time to think about this." At that moment, one of the clones that I had thought was dead sprung up from the ground, about to plunge it's wrist-blade into Vincent's back, but it's head was blown clean off by an unseen projectile. Vincent turned around to look at the corpse topple, and looked up at the castle, where I could see a faint black dot at one of the windows. He smiled. "I didn't think it was possible to make that shot."

"You do have the added advantage of not having a corporeal form, y'know." Melissa pointed out. "That bullet went straight through you."

"Still, he managed a head shot from that distance, and through someone else's body. That deserves at least some merit." He replied, before heading towards Dagger to see how she was holding out. I stroked my chin in thought, my head buzzing with new questions. Why had Draco attacked here today? Did it have anything to do with the mysterious assassin from before? Was it him who had possessed me? This was going to take a lot of thinking.

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter folks! I promised you some action, and I delivered! But now I must go, for my hands ache from typing so much, and my bed is calling to me! Check the blog for updates, and until next time, see ya later! 

Chris/Ulthran


	7. Chapter 6: The Dark Beast Awakens

Disclaimer: Basically, anything to do with Final Fantasy 9 here, I do not own. The rest of it (all the stuff I have made up) is mine. So Atlantis, the Water Crystal, the Chaos fighters, the Titans, Emma Falstar, Sanubia (yes I nicked the name from FFX, but the city itself is my idea) and Horizon Road. If I've missed anything, or there's anything you need to ask me about, e-mail me at Just broke up for the summer holidays! WOO! This means I'll have quite a bit of spare time to spend on this fic, and the drawings I've started. Once I've finished them, they'll be going up in the blog, so make sure you check it out.

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_**Chapter 6: The Dark Beast Awakens**_

_A scream. A high, evil laugh. Loud clanking and roars of gunfire. Silence._

_It took me a few seconds to recognise my surroundings, but the massive familiar clock tower gave it away. Big Ben. I was in London._

_Earth. The one stable thing in my mind, that no matter what happened to me in Gaia, I knew that Earth would always be the same. But something was different. There was no hustle and bustle on the bridge I stood on, overlooking the river Thames. In fact, the only sound on offer chilled my heart. Gunshots, and ear-shattering explosions. I ran down the long empty road as fast as I could, towards the source of the terrible sounds, but something _very _big cut off my path._

_It was mounted on six writhing arachnid legs, and was striding effortlessly over buildings, dozens of rockets pinging off it's heavily armoured shell, which emitted a dull glow in the smoke that billowed all around it. On it's back was mounted a colossal cannon, that glowed before unleashing it's terrible might on it's surroundings. I swept my vision around and saw one of the beasts up close as it strode over the bridge, ignoring all in it's path. It stopped, slowly turning it's body to face directly towards me, and my entire body grew numb. The ground was thumping under the heavy thud of detonations, and I ducked as the massive clock tower, a symbol of our great capital, erupted into a million pieces, the shockwave knocking me off my feet. Over the incredible din, I heard a faint humming that grew louder in intensity. The cannon on the back of the giant metal beast started to glow from within, before erupting with a terrifying light that shot straight towards me. I felt my body simply evaporate into dust, but no pain whatsoever. I thanked my lucky stars that this was just a vision, and that it wasn't actually happening._

_I lay panting in the blinding white light that the entire world seemed to be made out of, as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, there was a calm female voice behind me._

"_He threatens everyone, not only the Spiritseers. No-one is safe from his mission." I turned around to see a gentle looking woman wearing a pure white sweater standing behind me, her silky brown hair hanging by her shoulders, twinkling brown eyes gazing intently towards me._

"_Errm, who are you?" I asked, my voice echoing around the emptiness._

"_My name is Emma Falstar, I'm here to fill in some gaps in your knowledge." She swept her hand behind her, and a scene appeared. There was a colossal city that seemed to be built entirely on the crystal clear waters of the ocean. Nothing important seemed to be happening. "Two hundred years ago, the Spiritseers were the dominant species of the Spirit Realm, building eight huge cities to accommodate the dead. Each city held an elemental crystal at it's very heart. The city before you is Atlantis, and it has the Water Crystal at it's centre, allowing it to float on the surface of the water, like a feather." She paused, waving her arm again as the scene changed._

_Now I could see a daunting tower that seemed to stretch into the very heavens, surrounded by heavy fortifications, bristling with all sorts of vicious weapons. Obviously the designer of this place had been told not to mess about, and to make it obvious that this was not a holiday spot. A foreboding wall made entirely of some sort of steel surrounded the tower, and I could even make out faint figures moving about._

"_Our complacency would be our downfall. We believed that nothing could destroy us. We were wrong." We zoomed in, to the very top of the tower, where a familiar dark figure stood overlooking the land. "For every alpha, there is an omega. He is the shadow created by our light, and is our greatest fear." Draco smiled faintly, looking to the horizon._

_Once again, the scene changed, this time showing an army that seemed to engulf the entire land. I saw the spider-like walkers striding over the countless millions of Imaginary Numbers, who were all marching through an arid desert, towards a distant glow on the horizon._

"_His army of darkness grew, comprising of creatures that were too horrific to even name, his war machines crushing anything in their path." This time I could see another gigantic city, ablaze with explosions and flame, which licked at the skies threateningly._

"_Sanubia was the first to fall, destroyed in less than twenty-four hours. 2 million spirits perished that day." Suddenly, I started to notice that everything was fading slowly from view, like mist dissipating in the air. Emma looked at me in surprise._

"_Gah, what the heck?" I yelped in surprise as I looked down to see my body fading away before my very eyes._

"_Hmm, looks like our time is up for the moment." She still looked worried. "The end of days has arrived..."

* * *

_

I managed to sum up the entire dream in three simple words as I rolled out of the warm comfortable bed in Alexandria Castle.

"What the cha?" I rubbed my eyes sleepily, still trying to figure out what was going on. Any more weird happenings like this and I feared I may go insane.

At that very moment, I heard a lot of shouting coming from down the corridor, shouting that sounded very much like Steiner, in fact. I sighed and rolled my eyes, what was he yammering on about now? I left the room, while pulling on my shirt at the same time, and headed down the corridor towards the source of the crazed shouting. Before long, I had reached the door and pulled it open, only to see an enraged Steiner pointing his long shining sword at Kuja's exposed neck.

"Finally, some reinforcements!" He said, panting from shouting too much.

"Chill out Tin-man. He's on our side." I held out my hands, trying to calm him down. Steiner looked back and forth from me to Kuja, right before Dagger burst into the room.

"Aldebert Steiner!" She shouted, looking a little peeved. "Why do you point your weapon at an ally?"

"I apologize your majesty, I was not yet aware of his intentions."

"You should do, you saw him fighting a common enemy yesterday." She turned to me. "The others are out in the courtyard, if you would like to take these two with you." Steiner sheathed his sword, firing a dirty look at Kuja before leaving the room, closely followed by Dagger. I looked at Kuja.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked him, folding my arms patiently. He looked out of the window, down at the courtyard where the others were hanging around.

"I suppose I'd be better off staying around here. I have something to show you humans anyway."

"Oh cool, just as long as nobody 'accidentally' slices your head off while you're here then?"

The sun was beating down quite nicely, but I could see a faint wisp of deep grey cloud on the horizon, heralding some rain later. The others were standing around, but I quickly noticed that all of them, apart from Sam of course, were armed.

"What's with the heat, peeps?"

"Well, I figured from the fact that some of us were pretty rusty yesterday, that we'd better do some training." Neil admitted.

"Face it man, you're never gonna get over that dude smacking you out the way." Bruce taunted him. Neil almost seemed to growl for a second.

"I will have my revenge for that!" He pounded his fists together.

"Yeah right, you suck at fighting. Why not go back to being a pansy-ass white mage?"

"Why you little--" Neil drew his machete and launched himself at Bruce, swinging crazily. The manic-haired warrior stepped out of the way, grabbing his claymore from the wall beside him, before bringing the blade to bear on the agile paladin.

"You wanna go then?"

"You're going down!" I shook my head in embarrassment as they launched into each other, blades clanging loudly. We moved away from the fighting pair, just so we wouldn't accidentally get cut to pieces.

"Um, I can't exactly fight." Sam admitted, looking nervously around.

"Ah relax, there's nothing to it. Watch and learn." She turned to me, drawing the beautifully crafted katana from her back. "First blood drawn from the torso?" I did a double take. I wasn't too good at close combat, but I couldn't deny that I needed the practice.

"Alright, you're on." I replied, drawing out the lightly built dagger I always had on me. Before I even had I chance to react, she had lunged at me, sweeping the katana out wide. I phased back and forth quickly, so she went straight through me, before turning around and making a quick slash towards her. However, she still ran forwards towards the wall, and straight up it, performing an amazing looking back flip right over me, landing softly before disappearing into the other realm. I dived forwards to dodge her attack as she re-appeared right besides me, before rolling onto my back and freezing the floor beneath her with an ice spell. She struggled to move her feet, which were now firmly frozen to the floor, and I felt a sudden shiver up my spine. She stopped too, looking puzzled.

"What was that?" She asked no-one in particular. I felt something vibrate in my pocket, and I realised that the Halo uplink was still in there. I pulled it out and looked at the screen in confusion.

There was a glowing red dot over where the Desert Palace would be on the map, slowly growing in size. I saw Vincent and Rayth come running out, looking at the sky in panic. It was at that point I realised there was a loud unidentifiable scream in the air, before three close packed objects shot straight over the castle, swerving through the sky aggressively. Vincent pulled his communicator out and tapped a few buttons, putting it to his mouth.

"Zion Command, this is Vincent speaking. I've just caught sight of three Chaos class fighters fly over Alexandria. Could you confirm that?" He waited, before a crackling female voice replied.

"That's affirmative. We're getting sightings everywhere, my lord. Agents on both Earth and Gaia are reporting Great War age aircraft passing by. Halo is reporting a huge build-up of non-spirit entities in the Bermuda Triangle, Horizon Road, and the Desert Palace, looks like Imaginary Numbers to me. I also have unconfirmed reports of a Titan near the Desert Palace too." If it was possible for a ghost's face to pale, Vincent just managed to pull it off. He tried to say something, but the words didn't come out. Finally, he seemed to pluck up the courage to say something.

"Put Zion on yellow alert. Inform the Council that I'm coming back."

"Roger that." The device went silent, and he looked at Rayth.

"This is it, isn't it?" Even the stoic figure of Rayth looked afraid.

"I fear so. We have to get back to Zion right now." He nodded and headed for the Destiny, which was still squatting in the middle of the Courtyard, towering over us. Vincent headed over. "We have to go now, you have to be careful from now on."

"What's happening?" I asked. His was beginning to scare me slightly.

"The past is repeating itself..."

I watched worriedly as the Destiny took off, kicking up dying leaves and dust in it's wake, before shooting off into the sky at a blazing speed. I looked at Kuja, who didn't even look slightly fazed at what had just happened.

"This is what I came to tell you." He said, turning his gaze on me.

"What? That your palace is crawling with clones?"

"No, that I have found an ancient artifact that may be of some use to you." He paused for a few seconds. "And the clone issue too."

"And it's still in the palace, which is currently crawling with clones, and has a Titan parked outside, whatever one of those may be?"

"That's correct."

"Gee, that's useful all right. What exactly is this artifact you speak of?"

"It's some sort of gate, but I don't quite understand how to use it. The writing on it is completely impossible to understand."

"Right, so we're going to risk life and limb to get to a gate that we can't possibly use?"

"Correct." I shrugged.

"Sounds good to me. Who else is with me?"

"If there's some of those damn clone things, then I'm going!" Bruce exclaimed, raising his sword above his head.

"Same here, I want a bit of revenge." Neil agreed, grinning evilly.

"If you're going, I'm going." Melissa nodded.

"The Desert Palace? Hell yeah!" Sam jumped into the air to illustrate her point. I looked at our little party and grinned.

"Looks like we're all going then." I told Kuja, who was looking at us in disbelief.

"There I was thinking you all had a self-preservation instinct."

"C'mon Kuja, you've known me long enough to know that even if it's pointless, I'll still do it." I patted him on the shoulder. He sighed, and we all headed off to get our stuff together.

The creaky old airship wasn't exactly the best of it's kind, but it would do. Now that the Forgotten Continent had been re-discovered by those of the Mist Continent, there were always frequent airship flights to the 'new' world, ferrying the adventurous few that wanted to explore this brave new world. It was upon the airship that our little party decided to rest for a while, preparing ourselves for the struggle ahead. I leant on one of the wooden railings, looking down at the bleak landscape of the Forgotten Continent with reluctance. This was probably suicide, but deep down I knew there was a reason why I wanted to go. That gate sounded familiar, and if it was what I thought it was, then it would be a good idea not to let it fall into enemy hands. However, I was more than a little worried by this 'Titan' that had been mentioned. Was it the same mechanical monster that had appeared in my dream? If so, we were more than screwed, we'd be evaporated in an instant. I hoped to high hell that it wasn't what I thought it was. I looked around the deck, at each member of our little party, watching them go about their regular checks. Melissa was swishing her katana through the air, listening to the sound it made intently, while Neil sat crosslegged relaxing. Bruce seemed to be preoccupied with the pilot's cabin, while Kuja was up at the front, being watched closely by Sam.

Suddenly, I became aware of a distant sound, a loud clanking in the far distance. I ran up to the front of the ship, only to see a large object rise out of the ground roughly 1000 metres in front of us. It shone brightly in the reflected sunlight, and it was only when we had moved a bit further forwards that I noticed exactly what it was.

I almost had a heart attack.

It looked very much like the machine in my dream, complete with six stoic legs and a gigantic cannon mounted on it's back. It seemed to be moving around a bit, slowly turning towards us.

"What in God's name is that thing!" Neil shouted, running to the sturdy wooden railing at the very front of the ship, overshadowed by the balloon above us that was keeping us in the air.

"I think that's a Titan." I explained.

"Great, we're screwed." He admitted hopelessly.

"Uh, just a thought, but why are we flying _directly towards_ it?" Sam pointed out.

"Good point." I turned to the pilot, who seemed to be stuck to the spot in terror. "You might want to land this thing." He nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off the monstrosity that we were approaching. However, there was a loud whoosh, and I could make out a thin white line approaching us at very high speeds.

"Please tell me that isn't what I think it is." Neil muttered.

"What, a missile?" Bruce answered unwittingly. Neil turned on him.

"Gee, thanks for the positive reinforcement there!"

"I think it might be time to abandon this vehicle." Kuja added. "Quickly" But it was too late. The deadly missile was getting closer and closer, and I almost fell over as the aging pilot turned the ship sharply to the left. The dreaded weapon fly past us so closely on our right-hand side that I could make out the stabilising fins on the sides of it. The rickety airship started to drop at a rapid pace, and I could see a small mountain range that we could perhaps hide behind.

"Ah, it's coming back around!" Melissa shouted, pointing wildly at the missile, which had now completely circled around us and was coming back towards us.

"Buggernuggets!" Neil shouted back. There was a slight advantage to our new position: at least the Titan couldn't see us.

"Hold onto something!" I shouted, as everyone scrabbled desperately for something to grab onto.

Then the missile hit us.

The explosion was massive, tearing off the entire back of the ailing airship, firing wooden shards everywhere. I held on tight to the support cable for the balloon above, when I felt someone grab me around the waist. I turned my head to see Melissa, who had failed to find anything else to hang on to, and was currently glued to my waist, her eyes shut tight. I would have been happy about the situation if we weren't all about to die. I looked on as the pilot flew through the window in front of him, and sailed right on over the edge of the ship, screaming as he went.

"_Poor guy."_ I heard Kirjava say. I felt sorry for him too, although he had probably lived a full life. I felt the airship tip forwards at an alarming rate, plowing straight towards the ground. I looked down towards the front of the ship, where Sam was hanging on Kuja's legs, emitting an ear-bursting scream. Neil was perched precariously on the back of the cockpit, almost surfing the airship in a way. Meanwhile, Bruce was hanging off the side of the balloon, yelling with excitement as we dropped rapidly. How the heck he had got up there in the first place, I would never know, but it was too late to try and work that out, as the ground seemed to want to meet us quite badly.

Bam!

We hit the deck at an incredible speed, and the world went dark as everything around us shattered to the sound of bangs, crashes and yells.

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Right then, that should do for the moment. Sorry about the cliffhanger peeps, but I haven't decided where this is going to go yet . Anyways, I'll work hard on the next chappie, and I've just started to work on some illustrations too, as long as I can draw that is.

See ya later.

Chris


	8. Chapter 7: Impossible Odds

Disclaimer: Calum is a character invented by Calum Wilson, who I'm borrowing. The two new people, (you'll find out their names in the next chappie) are partly my creation, and partly Samantha Warnaar's creation, so don't you dare nick them. Again, anything to do with FF9 is owned by Square-Enix, so don't go suing my ass off for it guys!

A/N: Got a few new characters to introduce today, so bear with me here. I've just finished working out exactly how the story is going to go, so updates _should_ come quicker now. However, that's no promise, as sorts of stuff seems to be going on in my life at the moment.

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_**Chapter 7: Impossible Odds**_

Slowly the world came into focus as I opened my eyes warily, aching in every possible place. Was I alive? It would be foolish to think that any of us had survived a drop that big. I tested each part of my reluctant body, before realising that the there was a rather large shard of wood stuck firmly in my thigh, blood oozing out slowly and drooling onto the floor. I grabbed the revealed end and pulled, my eyes watering from the sheer pain of this small action, as the sharp wooden shard slowly slid loose, accompanied by a rapid squirt of crimson, right before opening the flood gates. I reached my trusty satchel, pulling out a potion and pouring it out onto the open wound. It closed up slightly, the blood flow slowing and eventually stopping. By the end of the healing process, all that was left was a round hole the size of an acorn, the slightest bit of fluid dribbling from it.

"Ah horseshit!" I heard someone shout from the other side of the annihilated airship wreckage, something that sounded suspiciously like Bruce. Someone groaned very close to me, and I turned to see Melissa hanging upside down from a section of the wreck.

"What happened? Why are you sat on the ceiling?" She murmured in a impact-induced stupor.

"I'm not on the ceiling, you are." I explained, crawling to my feet and swiping at the bit of rope that had latched itself onto her ankle. She fell to the ground quite loudly, yelping as she hit the deck.

"How did we survive that?" She muttered, looking in awe at the wreck.

"To be perfectly honest, I haven't got a flippin' clue." I answered, gently grabbing her wrist to pull her to her feet. I looked at the area we had landed in quite violently, and wasn't too miffed with the results. We were in the shelter of a small mountain range, one that I recognised quite well. We were near Kuja's palace, so that couldn't be a bad thing. Unfortunately, I had no idea where the Titan had run off to, so if we stepped out into the open we would be sitting ducks, ready to be blown to pieces at the first opportunity. However, I could see a glow in the near distance, also within the mountain range. Perhaps someone was out camping? Although admittedly this wasn't the best place to camp out.

Suddenly, part of the airship to my right exploded into several pieces, and Kuja crawled up out of the impact crater, brushing dirt off his once pure white clothes. Closely following him was Sam, who looked a little dazed, and had a minor cut on her forehead. Over in the other direction, I could hear large amounts of cursing, which I could only assume was Bruce.

"I am never flying again." I heard Sam mutter, rubbing the cut on her forehead and staring numbly at the blood on her hand.

"...why does it feel like someone's run over my legs with a truck?" I heard Neil groaning a few yards away. "Oh." He responded, looking at the debris that covered the area.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked, only to be answered by assorted groans and moans. I rolled my eyes. "Is anyone dead?" There was silence. "That's better, now--" My words were cut off mid-sentence by a rather loud shot zipping right past my face and into Bruce's lower leg, complete with sick splat sound.

"Aaaaaaah!" Bruce shouted, clutching his leg in pain as I whipped around to see an Imaginary Number standing near a rock a good distance away. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't standing for long, as he was hit with a combination of two fire spells and a holy blast and promptly exploded. At that moment, a whole load of them popped out of nowhere and decided that now was a good time for a charge. So they did. The first one approached me, arm-blade raised and ready to decapitate me, but was quickly halted as it's legs decided to spontaneously freeze, before shattering painfully into several millions of pieces. Still it came at me, dragging itself across the floor with it's spare hand, waving it's blade in a vaguely threatening manner. I finished off with a stab to the heart out of disgust, waiting until it had completely stopped moving before sending another one flying backwards with a well aimed thunder spell to the chest, it's body convulsing uncontrollably as it impaled itself on a sharp bit of debris. I took this moment of respite to check on the progress of the others. Melissa was halfway through snapping the neck of one clone, rather acrobatically with her legs. Bruce completely sliced another in half with a quick swing of his mighty claymore, before smashing the hilt into the face of another coming from behind him. Sam was cringing away behind Kuja, who was effortlessly deflecting every bullet fired at him with a series of protect spells, before wiping out anybody who dared stand in his way with magic vengeance. Neil was currently speeding himself up with a well-cast haste spell, flitting in and out of the bullets and slicing apart the faces of those who were attacking him.

In my moment of laxness, I failed to notice a looming shadow behind me, but I heard a wet squelch, and I saw the Imaginary Number behind me fall to the ground, a long spear-like weapon embedded in his back. I looked up to see the owner of this weapon, a gingery-auburn haired individual, with sharp blue eyes and a light-looking armour, coloured red and black. He saw my confused expression and shrugged.

"Thought you'd need the help." He noted before ripping the bladed end of the polearm out and swinging it elegantly into the next enemy. Whoever this new ally was, he looked like he could handle himself quite well, effortlessly decapitating, maiming and killing the clones in the area. With the co-ordinated efforts of our growing group, the attackers were vanquished within minutes, their bloody corpses littering the area. At least the birds would dine well tonight. I turned to the new guy.

"Thanks for that." I thanked him. He shrugged again.

"No problem." He looked at the wreckage of the airship. "Looks like you've had a rough time." He noted, swinging the naginata across his shoulders.

"You could say that. What are doing all the way out here anyway?"

"Oh, I go around collecting materials for clothing and stuff." He paused. "Well, that is if you count 'slaughtering monsters and skinning them, then cutting bits off them to sell later' as 'collecting'."

"Ewww."

"Hey, it pays well. What're you guys doing out here?" I thought about it for a second, wondering whether or not to tell him.

"Erm, we were heading out into the desert when a big monster of some sort blew our airship out of the sky." I figured that would be a sufficient explanation.

"Oh, you mean that big mech? That scared the bajesus out of me before, I've never seen anything like that, at least on this planet anyway." Now he had perked my curiosity.

"What do you mean by 'this planet'? You from somewhere else?"

"Kinda, I got stuck here about five years ago after some big glowing hole appeared in my living room." He laughed to himself. "God, walking through that thing was a bad idea."

"Wait a second, you're from Earth too?" Neil butted in. The young man floundered for a second.

"Too!" I thought I was the only one!" He looked at us all. "You're all from Earth?"

"Yeah, all apart from Kuja here." Melissa replied.

"Okay, this is a bit weird." He muttered. "Why were you heading into the desert?" I sighed and explained the whole thing to him. He blinked in surprise. "Can I come too? I could lend a hand getting you to that gate if you want."

"Yeah, okay then. What's your name?"

"Calum." We had our introductions, and moved off towards the entrance to the palace in the mountain side. Bruce limped on his shot leg, tapping Neil on the shoulder.

"Hey, aren't you going to heal me?" Neil rounded on him.

"What was that? You want a pansy-ass white mage to help you out?" He grinned evilly. Bruce scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Err, about that..."

"Oh, get Kuja to sort you out or something." Neil strode off quickly, leaving Bruce to tend to the wound with a potion.

When we arrived at the airship port to the Desert Palace, we couldn't believe our eyes. There must have been well over thirty Imaginary Numbers lying dead outside, their blood staining the coarse sand beneath them a deep red. I knelt down next to one of the corpses, checking it for any signs of injuries, only to find that these had all been shot. It couldn't have been a Gaian native, as no-one on this planet had figured out how to use a gun with such accuracy, let alone be able to make one. It couldn't have been a Spiritseer either, as most of them had been called back to Zion to prepare for a possible attack. It went without saying that someone from Earth wouldn't have stood a chance here either, so that didn't leave many options available. On further inspection, I was shocked to find that there were some sort of residual trace on them of spiritual essence, as if some of them had received a massive feedback from lack of spirit. Even weirder is the fact that some of them had been killed by black magic, the burn marks horribly apparent.

"Who could have done this?" I murmured, but didn't have chance to finish. The others had started to scramble into the dock, and I turned to see the incredibly tall reason why they were running. The earth trembled in fear beneath the six stomping insect-like legs of the Titan. Altogether, the mechanical monster was about the size of Alexandria Castle...and that was no exaggeration. I jumped to my feet and ran towards the dock, hoping to the powers-that-be that it hadn't seen us.

Once inside, we found more corpses, riddled with bullet holes and scorch marks, blood spilled out across the dusty floor. I began to find this rather unnerving, like walking into a tomb at midnight would feel.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Sam whispered, sticking close to Kuja as we advanced.

"I've got it too." Melissa replied. "This is really creepy." We headed cautiously through the cavernous docking bay, steady streams of dust shook from the ceiling as the Titan stomped around outside, looking for something to blow up.

Once we went through the teleporter, I heard rapid gunshots in the far distance, along with a high pitched roaring that rang out across the vast palace. We all dove into action as a clone turned around to face away from the door he had been protecting in the finely furnished room that we had teleported into. The torches glowed elegantly in the calm and warm surroundings. I remembered this as the room that Zidane had gone into to meet with Kuja with the Gulug Stone, the wrought iron grill on the dark dank cage beneath the room was in the middle of the room.

The clone had little time to think as he was quickly slashed and stabbed to death as quietly as possible, his life fluids pouring out onto the floor. Kuja tutted.

"I hope they get somebody to clean up after these guys, because I'm certainly not doing it." He kicked the fallen clone in the head for good measure, before opening the door in front of us the slightest bit, peering through the crack. He indicated that it was safe and we moved on, keeping as quiet as possible. Melissa pulled out her katana and tapped Sam on the shoulder, taking care not to touch any skin.

"Here, try this out." She whispered.

"But what will you use?" Melissa grinned mischievously.

"First rule in this game:" With an elegant flick of the wrist, she revealed two shining butterfly blades, beautiful patterns wound their way up the blade of the weapons. "Always keep a trick up your sleeve." Sam took a few practice swings with the expertly forged blade, getting a feel for it's weight. She did a practice lunge and almost fell over, bumping into the wall clumsily.

"This is going to take some getting used to." She whispered, and Melissa just laughed at the sight of the blade slipping out of her fingers after another test swing and almost impaling Neil.

The gunshots ahead suddenly got louder, and more frequent, before suddenly fading out completely. This could have been good news and bad news. The good news would be that whomever the attacker was, who had slaughtered all of the clones to get here, they had killed off all of the enemy. The bad news would be that there was something at the end of this ornately decorated corridor that managed to wipe out a person who had fought through over 70 Imaginary Numbers. I was hoping that it was the former rather than the latter.

We reached the doorway at the far end of the corridor, light filtering in from the torches that lined the deep red walls, almost as if they were highlighting our path forwards.

"This is where I found the gate, in this room." Kuja explained, tugging on the handle. "That's strange. It wasn't locked before."

"Stand back." Bruce warned us, prepping himself up for something, before charging shoulder first into the door at top speed, only for it to shudder slightly, unyielding in it's might.

"Well that was retarded." Neil pointed out to his companion. I rolled my eyes.

"Just get out the damn way." I said, pointing my palm towards the door, along with Kuja. A second later, two low-level Ultima spells collided with the door, and completely blew it off it's hinges, sending it clanging along the floor into the room beyond. Inside, I saw two figures collapsed on the floor, one male and one female, covered in all sorts of wounds. However, I could faintly see signs of life coming from them, which was a relief. Stood over these two were five imposing warriors, each dressed in corresponding armour; the same armour the Imaginary Numbers wore. One of them was horribly familiar, her ethereal outline pulsing with a deep dark aura.

"Well well, more uninvited guests." She looked at us, standing perfectly stock still.

"Are there any more of you pathetic beings coming along too?" A male member of the group growled, toying with the particularly evil-looking rifle in his arms. Like the others, he had a pale silver hair, but also had a deep scar running down his face, barely missing his left eye.

"Sorry, did we interrupt something?" Melissa muttered, also playing with the twin blades in her hands.

"Not at all. In fact, you're more than welcome to join the party." Another male member of the group welcomed us, this one with longer silver hair to his shoulders, clutching a lethal rapier in his right hand. When first looking at this group, you'd be forgiven into thinking that they're siblings; all with cold purple eyes, with varying styles of silver hair.

"This will be the only time I tell you: you are trespassing in my palace. The next time I tell you, you won't have any body parts left to be able to listen to me with." Kuja whispered darkly.

"My my, how threatening." The other female of the group replied, grinning crazily. "Then I guess we'll have to go then." She said in a mocking tone, batting her eyes as much like an innocent little girl as she could. It failed... miserably.

Right then, the one with the rifle kicked off, roaring and pointing the deadly weapon directly at us, firing a shot that flew right between us and exploded violently against the doorway behind us, blowing apart the ornate door and sending us flying across the beautifully crafted room. Calum was the first one to recover, pulling out a potion and smashing the contents over the blade of his naginata.

"What are you doing? You trying to heal them or something?" Neil cried in outrage.

"Didn't you know?" He raised his hand to the blade, and amazingly enough, he cast a fire spell onto the blade, igniting the split contents of the bottle. "Potions are flammable." He swung the flaming blade straight into one of the male members of the group, clashing with the enemy's ornate bladed arm with a loud clang. Bruce jumped up at the man with the explosive rifle, expertly thrusting his claymore towards the brute of a man. The dark warrior with the rapier strode towards Sam, who swung her katana at him in defiance. He deftly blocked this move and swiped across her left arm, drawing blood and a yelp of pain. An instant later, Kuja had thrown him against the wall with a particularly nasty spell. He crouched down next to her, healing up her arm in an instant, when she suddenly started hyperventilating. She cried out in pain, her body trembling like a maniac's would.

"W-what's happening?" She yelped between breaths. The warrior that had been flung to the floor looked at her, and I could almost detect a sign of fear in his expression.

"Not another one!" He groaned. I had no idea what the heck he was going on about, but Sam's situation wasn't getting any better, her face growing deathly pale. Kuja jumped back suddenly.

"Did she just shock me?" He questioned, rubbing the afflicted arm in surprise. Her eyes closed for a second,only to reopen as bottomless pits of darkness. I took a step back, absent mindedly throwing the ex-assassin that was approaching my back with a Flare spell. What was going on with her? With a few more jerks, I noticed that her body was slowly changing, deep black claws emerging from the ends of her fingers, her clothing being replaced by a multitude of ancient bandages, some of them bloodstained. Her face grew more drawn and gaunt, almost as white as a sheet, her hair became a flailing mass of thin dark strips. As suddenly as it had started, it stopped, the transformation complete. Now she looked utterly terrifying, small sparks of electricity crackling between her and the surroundings. Slowly she crawled to her feet, and emitted a horrifying high-pitched scream, sounding incredibly inhuman in origin. Before anyone had chance to move, she had leapt onto one of the men, the one with the rifle that Bruce had been attacking, and engaged in a orgy of destruction like nothing I had ever seen before. Five seconds later, the pieces of his body left that were larger than a tennis ball numbered less than I could count on my hands. Covered from head to toe in crimson, she then proceeded to completely devour the rapidly vanishing mist that had been his soul.

The other warrior standing nearby, the one with the blade-arm, leapt towards her, only to be blown into an indent a foot deep in the wall by a massive crackling thundery mass of lightning firing from her claw tips.

"I think it's time we retreated for the moment." The guy with the rapier muttered, before tapping a button on his fore-arm armour, and completely vanishing from sight. The others followed suite, and soon the room was empty except from us, the terrifying apparition in the centre of the room, and the motionless couple on the floor.

Samantha (if it was still her) looked around at each of us, before screaming again and reverting quickly back to her original form, her scream slowly turning from inhuman shriek to high pitched cry. Once she was back to normal, she completely stopped moving, before collapsing to the floor into unconsciousness.

Everyone was gobsmacked. It was growing more apparent that the Wraith virus flowing through her body was getting stronger by the day, if it could completely reform her body like that. It seemed as though it had been brought on by the imminent threat to it's existence, much like a Trance.

While Kuja tended to her, I moved over to the two people that lay on the floor, checking them out. The female one had longish brown hair, about the same colour as mine, and a familiar complexion that I couldn't quite place my finger on. In fact, even her aura looked awfully familiar. After pondering for a few seconds, I gave up and took a look at the male companion. He looked a heck of a lot like Kuja, the same silver hair, he even had a Genome-style tail hanging limply between his legs, twitching slightly. He wore a heavy black longcoat, and I spotted two handguns clutched in his hands, empty shells all over the place, one still rolling from side to side in defiance. However, his coat was visibly punctuated with red holes, leaking blood out onto the floor in a deep red puddle that surrounded him. I noticed that the girl next to him also had familiar holes in her thin black blouse and her longish dress, which wound silkily down to her ankles.

"We'd better get the wounded to a comfortable place. How about your chambers Kuja?" I informed him, and he nodded in agreement, picking up Sam's body with relative ease. The rest of us pulled together to drag the others to Kuja's chambers.

Kuja lay Samantha's sleeping form on one of the cushions that were laid around the room, before collapsing on his luxurious bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress. With Neil's help, and a few potions, we managed to patch up the mysterious couple and resigned ourselves to rest for the night. I lay down near to Melissa, who was already half asleep with exhaustion, and relaxed on the feathery light cushions, watching the long silky drapes that hung down from the ceiling over Kuja's bed flutter slightly. My mind was still buzzed from the fight before, but it wasn't long before I felt myself descending into a deep relaxing sleep.

* * *

That's it for now. I reckon the next chapter _should_ be up within the next week, or at most, two weeks. Don't forget to check out my bio for a link to my blog!

Chris


	9. Chapter 8: Back To Reality

Disclaimer: Err, if it's owned by Square-Enix, it isn't mine. Eve and Joachim are jointly owned by Samantha Warnaar and myself, Jorgen Guile is mine, the Univeral Re-Alignment is mine, the Seer Gates are mine, Market Walk is a placein Chorley, so it isn't mine. I don't whether anyone has come up with the Glyphian language before, but I'm using it regardless. Anything else belongs to it's respective owners.

A/N: Wow, this was a really fast update! I think i'm beginning to fully take advantage of these sumer holiday thingies, so expect mulitple updates very soon!

* * *

_**Chapter 8: Back To Reality**_

"_When Sanubia was destroyed, we all panicked. Who wouldn't, when faced with an enemy that could destroy one of our major cities in a matter of hours?" I heard the voice from my past dreams, narrating history to me. "Soon after, Kalmana fell, then Mortalis, then Nirvana, all in the space of a few weeks. Our leader at the time, Jorgen Guile, decided to personally lead the defenses at Valhalla. A day later, the place was in ruins, and he had been killed in the attack. At that point, Vincent Heald, the brother of the man leading the enemy, and my husband, stepped up to take command. His choices in the following days would prevent our mass annihilation, but we would still suffer terrible losses at Draco's hands." I saw Zion appear, only to flicker for a few seconds and then change, set ablaze in the deep night, massive Titans outlined ominously in the fire, destroying all in their path._

"_While the battle raged, Vincent and Rayth, my dear brother, went alone to the Tower Of Babel to put a stop to this madness. They fought with Draco for several hours, until he was weakened enough for them to open the gate to Erebus, and cast him into it, sealing it up for good afterwards. They both fell in the process, but their deaths were not in vain. With their leader gone, the Imaginary Numbers fell into silence, allowing a swift counterstrike to take place and wipe them out."_

"_What about you? I take it that you're no longer alive?"_

"_No, my life was taken by Draco's hands. It's what drove my brother and my husband to end the war."_

"_So what happens now?"_

"_Draco's forces have returned, yet it is unknown how. His targets are not only us, but the rest of civilization too. His ultimate goal is the Universal Re-Alignment."_

"_Which is?"_

"_Every million millenia, the universe 'reboots', so to speak, by erasing all life in it, and reforming at another Big Bang. The life forces in the universe are regulated by the eight elemental crystals held at the hearts of the great cities. If all of these are destroyed, then the universe will re-align itself to prevent a total existence failure, recreating the crystals in the newly formed universe. The other way of inducing a re-alignment is to disrupt the flow of spiritual energy through the universe. Unfortunately, this can easily be achieved by destroying over seven-eighths of the living population of the universe."_

"_So he wants to destroy everything?"_

"_Everything."_

"_Crud." I paused to think for a second. "How can we stop him?"_

"_For centuries, those of us with the power of foresight saw you and your companions fighting in the final battle. We do not know exactly what will happen, but we have pieced together that the final battle will once again take place in Zion, after our great protector has been destroyed." I sensed my surroundings start to fade, to be replaced with an annoying shouting.

* * *

_

"Chris! Wake up you lazy sod!" Neil was shaking me by my shoulders, shouting in my ears.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy sleeping?" I muttered sleepily. He shook me again for good measure.

"We're going, we've been taking a look at this gate thing for the past half-an-hour trying to figure out how it works." He left and I slowly climbed to my feet, yawning and stretching lethargically. I looked at the couple laid in the corner, still sleeping quietly, and also at Sam, who was stretching as though she'd just woke up too.

"Where am I?" She muttered.

"In Kuja's chambers." She instantly shot to her feet, looking around in awe. "Don't get too excited." I chuckled, as I went over to the other two, tapping the girl on the face gently. "You waking up anytime soon?" She stirred, mumbling softly.

"Ooh my head." She murmured, her eyes flickering open, only to widen in shock when she saw me.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"It's nothing. I was just a bit surprised for a moment there." She shook her companion.

"Huh, what?" He mumbled. She sighed and tapped him, a small spark of electricity jumped from her finger into him, causing him to jump in shock. "What was that for!"

"For being so lazy." She grinned and got up, stretching for a second and looking around at her new surroundings. "What happened? The last thing I remember is getting shot to pieces."

"Oh, we dragged you in here and healed you up a bit."

"Thanks." She replied, kicking her companion again. He groaned and got up reluctantly.

"Can't a guy get some rest every now and then?" He muttered, ruffling his hand through his silver hair. Both of them looked familiar, yet at the same time, so unfamiliar.

"So what're you two doing here?" I asked, and they seemed to falter for a moment.

"Err, we here to investigate the military presence up here." She started

"We heard about the sightings of aircraft flying over here, so we came out to have a look, to see what we could do." He finished

"Well it looks like you've definitely got some fighting skills, there must be at least seventy or so dead clones back there.

"Seventy-six." He looked at us. "...not that I was counting or anything." There was an awkward silence.

"...Anyway, I didn't catch your names."

"Oh, I'm Eve, this is Joachim." She said, flicking her head towards him.

"I'm Chris, the gobsmacked one over there is Samantha, and there's some others out looking at the gate we found." Now it was Joachim's turn to look shocked, right before Eve booted him in the ankles.

"It's rude to stare, Joey." He lightly slapped her around the back of the head.

"I take it from that you don't like that nickname?" I chuckled.

"Hell no, and if you start, I'll strangle you." He pointed threateningly.

"Would it offend you if I told you that you're about as weird as we are?"

"Not really." Eve responded, shrugging. I walked over to Sam and dragged her by the hand out of the room, while she stared around in awe.

---

"Ewww, what happened in here?" She looked as though she was about to throw up when we walked into the room where we had fought the day before. Blood covered most of the wall near the doorway, and smelling chunks of flesh and body pieces lay strewn around the place.

"You happened, don't you remember?" Neil replied, sat on the steps on the far side of the room that lead up to the gateway. She shook her head.

"The last thing I remember is Kuja healing me and then everything just went black. Then I woke up the best room in the palace." She grinned. I explained what had happened, how she had transformed, and how she'd completely ripped one of the enemies apart.

"_I _did that?" I nodded. "...whoa."

"Jeez, come take a look at this thing." Melissa sighed from the far side of the room, studying the gate. I walked over, and saw that the gate, while looking like a normal doorway, was fully up against the wall. There was no way to walk through it. It seemed to be made out of a shiny type of metal, warm to touch, and there was some sort of panel at the side. However, on closer inspection, I noticed that all the buttons on the panel were marked with some sort of strange language.

"_I thought I'd never see anything written in that." _Kirjava pondered.

"_What do you mean?"_

"_It's written in Glyphian, one of the ancient languages that spiritseers used thousands of years ago."_

"_Can you read it?"_

"_Sure, any guardian can. Remember, we can decipher any language known to any race."_

"_What does it day then?"_

"_Hmmm, it says that this gate thing is some sort of portal generator, allowing an entity to travel through the barrier that separates parallel universes." _It took few seconds to realise the full impact behind these words.

"_We can get to Earth with this thing?"_

"_Should be able to, although we'd have to manually plot in the co-ordinates. That could take a while."_

"_Could you give it a try?"_

"_Alright." _Kirjava's human form appeared next to the panel, and started tapping away at buttons, a look of concentration on her face.

"So what's all this about then?" Bruce asked.

"This gate leads to other universes, including Earth." This prompted shock amongst the humans in the group.

"What? You mean...we could go back?" Neil exclaimed, and I nodded. He jumped into the air. "YES!"

"That would explain why the Imaginary Numbers were here." Eve thought out loud. "If they figured out some way to escape Erebus, this is how they would have got out. They'd need this to get their armies through."

"And just how would you get a Titan through that?" Bruce asked. Kirjava sighed, and tapped a few of the buttons in the panel.

"_Like this."_ The ground shuddered, and I saw the roof slowly grind open, tearing apart whatever decorations were currently on it. Sand poured into the room, but not as much as would be expected; just enough to cover the luxurious marble floor. I looked out into the open, and saw a colossal version of the gate in front of us slowly rise out of the sand. At the same time, I heard the familiar steady thud of the Titan that had been wandering around outside. Kirjava looked up and saw the war machine striding closer. _"Whoops." _She whispered.

"Erm, have we got a plan?" I shouted to the others.

"How about we throw whatever have at it until the portal opens?" Bruce suggested. Eve, Kuja, Joachim, and myself all stepped up. Four black mages versus a Titan? Oh yes, _this_ would come out in our favor. Each of us fired off the strongest spells we knew that we could cast without knocking ourselves out in the process. The spells smashed into the front of the machine, barely denting it.

"Do we have a Plan B?" I asked again.

"_Running would be a good idea about now." _Kirjava shouted, as she frantically tapped away at the buttons in front of her.

"_Where to, exactly?"_

"_Yes! How about Earth?"_ I heard a clanking sound as the gate behind us burst into life, suddenly showing an image of a dark tunnel inside the doorway. Everyone charged blindly into the portal, as the humming from the Titan started to grow in intensity. I stayed by the door, ushering everyone through before taking one final look at the towering machine, charging up to fire it's cannon, before diving through the door after the others.

---

It was very dark on the other side of the portal, and I only realised where we were when I lit up the area with a fire spell. It looked as though we were in some sort of tunnel, although I couldn't quite figure out where. The walls were covered in a deep green slimy moss, and I could hear the faint trickling of water somewhere. I took a step forwards, and felt my foot suddenly grow wet, and suddenly realised that we were in a sewer. Oh joy.

"Wow, this planet is nice." Kuja muttered, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I hope there isn't a floater around here." Bruce added. I rolled my eyes and led the way along for what seemed like hours, before coming across a wrought iron ladder, leading up to a manhole.

The light that burst in upon us almost blinded me, but when my vision returned, I had sit down to take everything in. We were on a small side street that I faintly recognised, from somewhere in my distant past. After helping everyone up, we moved out into the open.

"...We're home..." I whispered.

The main street was bustling with life, the familiar roar of countless amounts of cars trundling down the road. People were busy going about their business, chatting amongst themselves. Kuja stepped back in shock.

"What are...who the...whoa." He looked as though his mind was having problems coping with all the new sights.

"Are we splitting up? I wanna go check out how my parents are." Bruce asked. Admittedly the same thought had crossed my mind.

"We could do. Where are we meeting back up?"

"How about the top of Market Walk, at 6 o'clock?" I vaguely remembered the spot, the front of the shopping area of our town, right next to a large car park.

"Where?" Samantha looked confused.

"Oh sorry, you won't have any idea what we're going on about." I paused to think for a second. "Come to think of it, where are you actually from?"

"The Netherlands...duh."

"Ah cack, that's a fair distance away. Not to mention none of us have any money whatsoever."

"It's okay, I'll tag along with Kuja." She said, grabbing his arm. Heh, I almost felt sorry for the poor guy. If anyone recognised him, he'd be glomped to death instantly. He looked up at the sky in despair.

"Please, let me come with you." He pleaded. I just laughed.

"Alright then. What about you two?" I turned to Eve and Joachim.

"We'll go wherever you lot go."

"Melissa?"

"I suppose I'd better check at home."

"Alright, don't forget to meet back at Market Walk." We all headed our separate ways, and I headed down the distantly familiar path to my long lost home.

---

I paused for effect outside the building, as I felt long forgotten memories flooding back, filling my mind with such happy times. The house wasn't anything spectacular, just a small red bricked terraced house in the middle of an unremarkable street, with a small front yard that had a little flowerbed at the front. Some things had changed since the last time I had stood here; the curtains were new, the old rusty gate had vanished from the front yard, along with the old evergreen bushes.

I reached for the door handle, only to find it locked. It looked like my parents were out, but I remembered where they had kept the spare key. I climbed onto the small wall underneath the roof that covered the entrance, reaching beneath a loose roofing tile. I pulled out the key, proud that I could still remember, before climbing down and unlocking the door, letting us in.

Old memories and emotions blasted into me like a back draft in a fire, filling every cell in my brain. The living room hadn't changed too much. There was a new carpet, a silky cream one instead of the old brown-ish red one. The suite had changed from the odd-feeling brown satin to a deep bottle green leather, and there was now a rather large widescreen television in the corner. I turned to see the reaction of the others, Sam taking it in her stride, Kuja looking with interest at the stereo in the corner, Eve looking mildly impressed. Joachim didn't really seem that bothered, he was much more interested with Sam and Kuja again. What was with him and them?

I abandoned that line of thought just as Sam perked up.

"Could I use the phone? I just want to let my parents know I'm safe."

"That depends on what you class as 'safe'" I responded. She folded her arms.

"'Safe' as in 'not dead'."

"I'm kidding, go ahead." She leapt upon the chair next to the telephone, tapping in the numbers needed. Kuja wandered over to the stereo, tapping the button marked "Power" curiously. Suddenly, it burst into life, belting out some sort of new-age hip-hop cack, causing him to jump in shock.

"What is this device?" He asked, prodding the "Power" button again to silence the machine.

"It's called a stereo, it can either pick up radio waves to play music, or play it off a disc." I explained. He looked at me.

"This will take some getting used to."

"That's strange, the phone just went dead." Sam commented, a little bit of worry in her voice. I felt something vibrate in my pocket, and realised that it was the Halo Uplink. I pulled it out, and watched as it automatically zoomed in on a small part of Britain in the south. The image changed suddenly from the usual spirit aura image to a real time satellite image, and this image shocked me to the core.

There was a Titan wading it's way up the River Thames, wiping out anything that moved on the banks, leaving mass destruction in it's path.

"Oh my god." I muttered, before charging over to the television, hammering the power switch until it switched on. There was a news report, stating in huge letters 'LONDON UNDER ATTACK', while a very nervous-looking newscaster explained what was happening, while shaky images of the Titan moving up the river from a terrified cameraman, the citizens of London running and screaming in sheer hysteria. Suddenly, the title changed, this time reading 'MASS DEVESTATION' and the newscaster paled significantly, while holding his hand to his earpiece in disbelief.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, I've just received word that the events in London are not an isolated event. Giant machines have been reported attacking New York, Washington, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, and many other cities across the world." _Sam's face paled at the news.

"How far do you live from Amsterdam?" I asked.

"33 kilometres." She whispered hoarsely.

"_What you are seeing is a close-up of one of machines. We have received word that counter-attacks have been launched across the planet, but nothing appears to be damaging them."_ I watched as the camera image swung around to see three fast-flying jets launch bright missiles straight towards the side of the Titan, only for them to bounce harmlessly off it's thick shell, the explosions shaking the image even more. I looked at the Uplink again, watching as it slowly started to climb the north bank, stomping buildings into dust, firing it's gigantic cannon at anything that looked remotely threatening. Back on the television, the cameraman was now standing directly underneath the belly of the machine, staring directly up at it as it strode effortlessly over buildings.

"_We now bring you live to an emergency announcement by the Prime Minister." _The screen was suddenly filled by a grand-looking room, furnished wonderfully in deep mahogany. At the front of the room stood a well-suited man, highlighted by the repeated flash of cameras. The sign at the bottom of the screen said 'Tony Blair PM' in small letters, as if anyone didn't know who the Prime Minister was.

"My fellow people, it is with great sorrow that I announce the attack on our homeland. Our armed forces are bravely attempting to repel this new threat, but I urge the public not to--" he was cut off as the entire room exploded spontaneously and the feed cut out to fuzzing static.

I couldn't believe it. Earth, the one place that I had always imagined as safe, the one thing keeping me sane in the hostile world of Gaia, was now getting completely and utterly wiped out. With great haste, we left to the meeting place in the middle of the town.

---

"What the hell is going on?" Calum shouted. The town centre was practically abandoned, the panicking public had charged back to their homes to pack their valuables and get the heck away from these things. Shops were closed, streets deserted, the sun setting omniosuly in the distance. It was like a ghost town.

"It's Draco, it has to be. He knows that Earth stands a better chance against his army, so he's wiping us out first." I answered, hoping I was wrong, and that this was just another one of my dreams.

"What're we going to do then?" Neil folded his arms and looked at me.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well, you are our grand leader. You're the one supposed to come up with the plans." I thought quickly, the weight of responsibility on my shoulders.

"Right, the cities of Gaia need to be warned about this. Who knows when they could be struck?"

"I'll do that, it is my duty after all." Neil responded. Calum stood next to him, along with Bruce.

"We're coming along too, you're not going it alone." Bruce looked at Neil.

"That's that sorted then. What next?" I looked at the others, and noticed that Sam was looking increasingly concerned.

"I want to check whether my parents are okay." She pleaded. Kuja looked down at her, a look of pity in his eyes. Ever since I had revived him at the Iifa Tree, it seemed as though his emotional capabilites had grown wildly. Perhaps the part of my soul that I had used to bring him back had caused him to grow in ways he couldn't understand.

"I will accompany her, it would be highly unsafe for her to travel alone, especially with these 'Titan' machines wandering around." He told me. I was actually quite surprised, was that Kuja making excuses? Was he actually showing that he cared about another living being? Sam should think herself lucky, he rarely did that with Zidane and myself during our five year gap.

"But how are you going to get over there? It's not like any of us can fly a plane."

"I can." Joachim stepped forwards. "I've tinkered around with flying machines before, so I should be able to handle it."

"Alright then, you go with Sam and Kuja." I looked at Melissa and Eve. "I have to go to London, I have to see if I can get out any communication with anyone who has survived. Also, I think this could be classified as a Code Vermilion." Melissa shuddered, knowing all too well what I meant.

Code Vermilion was the highest state of alert in Zion. It gave all spiritseers permission to use any offensive combat skills that would normally reveal our existence. It was only used in dire emergencies, and I thought that imminent destruction of an entire civilization _might_ just be bad enough to warrant this.

"Well if you're going to London, so am I. I'm not losing you again." Melissa responded, knowing full-well that it would probably be suicide.

"I'll come with you too. It's not like I have anywhere else to go." Eve nodded along.

"Right, so we all know what we're doing?" Everyone nodded.

"So I guess this is goodbye for the moment then." Neil looked around at everyone.

"Yeah, but we're all coming back alive okay? No crazy heroics now." I warned them. Knowing what our missions were, we all headed our separate ways. I hoped with all my heart that nothing would happen to them, but fate has a nasty habit of creeping up on you...

* * *

That's all for now folks! Erm, please review. I haven't had any for the last two chapters, even though I know that there are people out here reading this (all hail the hit counter! XD) Also, after this chapter, I will start doing some sections in third-person, as there are now three parties instead of one.

Until next time

Chris


	10. Chapter 9: Scattered

Disclaimer: Just read the other disclaimers for now, if you have any questions involving the ownership of some of the items in this fic, just e-mail me at Right, I've decided to use third person for the other two groups in this fic, since it would be foolish to leave them out of this.

I've been getting really into writing at the moment, and I've already had a request from one of my work mates (who's an English student at university) for a printed copy of the first installment of the trilogy, which makes me happy. Obviously, it'll have a huge disclaimer at the beginning, so he can't use it for any coursework, and I won't be making any money off it. Anyway, I'll get started then.

* * *

_**Chapter 9: Scattered

* * *

**_

**Chris's Group**

We fought our way through the buffeting crowds of refugees, clutching whatever they could carry. There were sad weary women, their children stumbling and streaked with tears, their men bitter and angry. On the first day, we met a platoon of wounded soldiers, their vehicles wrecked and smoking.

"What's happened?" I asked one of them.

"They wiped us out...hundreds dead...maybe thousands..." He breathed, his eyes filled with disbelief. "They attacked us with giant machines, they just brushed us aside as if we were mere leaves in a storm. We were wiped out..." He repeated the same phrase over and over, trying to understand his own words, as the platoon moved on, heading north with the other refugees.

"This is terrible..." Melissa whispered, watching as wounded civilians trudged past, heading to the faint safety of the Scottish Highlands. We also heard that the battle was still raging in London, so we quickened our pace. We would have caught a lift, but everyone was heading the exact opposite direction to us, desperately attempting to escape the carnage behind them. I took another look at the Uplink, staring blankly at the images on the screen until they became nothing but a blur.

The Titan was currently wandering around, demolishing entire buildings in a single movement. But now it was not alone, as I could see the faint specks charging around, bright flashes in the dusk, and what seemed like smaller versions of the Titan walking around on four legs instead of six. We had to move quickly, but even now the sun was slowly dying on the horizon, taking it's last breaths before crawling under the lands, plunging the world into darkness. Tired and footsore, we took shelter in an abandoned inn, it's owners had packed and fled with the other refugees.

It was only a small inn, out in the countryside, it's ancient crumbling stone walls slowly being strangled by thin leafy tendrils of ivy, it's thatched roof highlighted in the dying sunlight, with cosy net curtains in front of the thick red fabric of the curtains behind. Reluctantly, I forced the front door open, as if the owners were still inside, shocked at the fact there were three weary travelers were breaking and entering. Of course, the inn was abandoned, so nothing of the sort happened.

Inside, the cosy feel multiplied, the reception was furnished with flowery wallpaper, comfortable red velvet chairs for weary customers to sit on, pictures of lambs frolicking in a field were hung up on the wall. We headed upstairs, each giving the other a silent nod of acknowledgment before turning in for the night.

I looked around the little room, before removing my dagger and putting it silently on the bedside table, so it was in easy reach if anything unexpected was to happen. I took off my boots, before climbing into bed, still fully clothed. It was a relief to be in a comfy bed for once, and I stared at the ceiling, watching the faint light patterns swirl from outside.

It must have been about an hour before I heard faint movement, and suddenly noticed Melissa leaning over the bed, looking directly down at my face.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep." She explained.

"How'd you get in so quietly?" I sat up while she sat down on the bed, her silhouette outlined by the faint light from outside. She smiled.

"I've been doing this kinda stuff for a while. You get good at it." She paused. "Did you see your parents?" She asked, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"Nah, they were out." She giggled softly.

"Same here. I guess after all these years I've kinda grown used to them not being around." She looked down, a faint smile on her face. I understood where she was coming from though. We'd all grown up a lot over the years, and matured considerably. I looked out of the window into the moonlight, hoping that the others were safe.

* * *

**Neil's Group**

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Neil shouted, falling over the rubble that filled the portal room in the Desert Palace. The whole room had been smashed to pieces when the Titan had attacked, yet by some miracle, the gate which they had escaped through had survived. It was a bit charred, but it still worked, which is what counts.

"Great, now what?" Bruce muttered.

"Now we head to Alexandria!" Neil pointed heroically out of the shattered ceiling, only to slip again and tumble down the pile of rubble, cursing loudly every step of the way.

"Please remind me how I got stuck with you two again?" Calum shook his head.

"Hey, you chose to follow us, we didn't ask you to."

"Where else was I supposed to go?"

"...Good point."

"Also, just how do you plan on crossing the ocean?"

"Er...I don't know! I just said that for dramatic effect!"

"So what are we _actually _going to do?" Bruce asked.

"Probably head for Black Mage Village, see what they can do to get us to Alexandria." The others nodded and got up, climbing over the rubble onto the blazing hot sands of the desert.

"That's strange, the Titan's gone." Neil commented. Suddenly, on the very horizon, there was a tremendous explosion, shaking the very ground itself.

"What's the odds that it's over there, blowing stuff up?" Calum noted, resting his naginata across his shoulder.

* * *

**Samantha's Group**

Manchester Airport was abandoned, the only movement was from the odd rustling bag of rubbish, and from an immense flock of birds flying away from the city centre, dots of black and white massing together in the sky to form a colossal wave of life, fleeing an unknown enemy. Kuja looked up to hear more thundering explosions towards the city, the sky igniting with flares of light, easily visible against the smoke from numerous fires that turned the dusk sky a deep coal black.

"Perhaps we should move." He noted, watching as a much smaller version of a Titan, this one mounted on four legs instead of it's bigger sibling's towering six legs, started to move towards their position.

"There should be a spare plane hanging around somewhere around here." Joachim noted, moving into the darkened airport, closely followed by the others.

Inside, the massive building that was once such a place of life lay as silent as a graveyard. The large screens that usually showed the arrivals and departures were blank and lifeless, along with any other piece of electrical equipment in the area. The thudding outside was getting louder, thrumming like a steady heartbeat. They made their way through the airport, charging straight through customs and running full speed out onto the airfield.

Massive jets stood silently, completely abandoned in the mad rush to escape from the terrible enemies. In between these silent behemoths sat a small propeller-powered plane. Just then, a massive metal foot crashed down through the terminal opposite, closely followed by the clanking monstrosity that had been approaching before.

"Ahhhhhh! Run!" Sam screamed, charging headlong towards the small aircraft, it's wings tinted light blue, marked with all sorts of random letters and numbers. The machine stood there watching them intently. Slowly, something started to emerge from it's belly. Sam didn't dare look, instead crouching underneath one of the seats in the plane. Kuja was next to reach the aircraft, jumping into the passenger seat next to Joachim, who dived into the pilot's seat.

"Everyone alright?" He asked, turning around to look at Sam lying down in the back, hiding her head.

"Just go already, before that thing gets us!" She shouted, refusing to move. Joachim hit the ignition, and the propeller out front slowly span into life. Kuja looked out of the window at the lethal-looking gun slowly lowering out of the belly of the machine.

"It might be a good idea to move right about now." He commented. Joachim kicked the controls in frustration.

"C'mon!" He shouted. Finally, the plane had started to move, slowly backing out into the open. The gun on the machine had slowly started to train itself on them, so Kuja decided to fight back by concentrating a stop spell on the machine. It worked, but it was taking a lot out of him, his breathing becoming more and more strained. Joachim growled as he put the plane onto the runway and accelerated wildly. At that moment, Kuja lost all concentration, falling against the old battered seat gasping for breath. The machine looked as if it was confused for a second, looking in every direction in disorientation, before looking at the speedy plane and unleashing it's weapon. It fired a small projectile, which left a shockwave in the air behind it as it shot towards them at top speed. Luckily, it missed, blowing a hole in the runway mere feet away. Joachim pulled back on the control stick, and the plane lurched sickeningly into the air, slowly gaining height. The machine behind them hadn't given up though, and lumbered down the runway after them, firing every few seconds, more near invisible projectiles scraping past them in plenty of near misses.

Finally, the little plane was out of range, and Joachim breathed out, closing his eyes in relief for a second, before continuing to fly the plane towards the misty horizon. Kuja crawled into the back of the plane, exhausted from the strenuous spell he had just cast. He was asleep almost instantly, and Sam carefully crawled up from under the seat, lying sleepily on the seat, with her head resting in his lap. Soon she was asleep too, and Joachim turned to see the sight of a young Earth girl asleep snuggled up to an ex-Angel of Death. He smiled warmly, before going back to concentrating on flying.

* * *

**Neil's Group**

The Titan that was wandering around the Desert Palace earlier had now decided to head towards Black Mage Village, stomping slowly towards the tiny village. Of course, it wasn't taking any shit either, blowing up anything that looked even remotely hostile, including a small hill, and a Trick Sparrow. The Trick Sparrow never saw it coming, frolicking delightfully near a patch of flowers, before being completely vaporised in a burning fiery inferno.

"That thing looks really pissed off." Calum commented, looking at it drawing closer and closer to Black Mage Village.

"If it gets to the village, I doubt anyone will survive." Neil added. "We'd better get down there."

Suddenly, the Titan erupted into flame, as the combination of over a thousand spells collided with every visible point of it's armour. The resulting explosion caused the ground to heave, blowing thick, choking clouds of dust across the land. After climbing back to their feet, the trio headed down the hill they had been standing on and charged towards the village, weapons out and ready.

---

When they arrived at the village, it was a scene of complete chaos. Imaginary Numbers were stalking around all over the place, firing shot after shot at the usually peaceful occupants of the village, who were steadfastly defending one another against this terrifying threat. The once imposing Titan now lay on the floor, it's legs sprawled out across the forest, smoldering brightly in the dying sunlight. Right in the middle of it was Mikoto, clutching a staff made out of delicately carved oak, smashing it into the face of any clone that happened by her. She looked across at the newly arrived trio.

"Neil! What are you doing here!" She shouted, diving to the floor as a clone opened fire a few feet away. Neil rapidly dispatched him with a Holy blast straight to the chest, before helping the lithe genome to her feet. Bruce charged into the nearest group of clones, swinging his obsidian-coated blade left, right and centre, roaring all the way. Calum stood by the Mikoto and Neil, elegantly swinging his naginata between two clones that were charging towards them, sending sprays of blood all over his deep black and red armour.

"We're on our way to Alexandria, they have to warned about all this." Neil explained to the panting genome, before swinging the machete into the legs of a clone creeping up behind her, and slicing up it's body, killing it in instantly.

"Agreed. But we could do with a bit of help here first." She replied, and threw a fire spell into another enemy, setting it alight like a roman candle. A Black Mage stumbled past, before dropping to the floor and turning still.

Bruce was in the thick of it, severing limbs and other body parts with every wide swing of the deadly sword. Suddenly, he felt a sudden chill in the air, and looked to see one of the figures that had attacked them in the Desert Palace, his ornate arm-blade glittering in the sunlight, a dark smile on his face.

"My master wishes to see you." He drawled.

"Yeah? We'll he's gonna have to queue up like everyone else. The clones stood back, almost as if they had been invisibly ordered too. The man drew the blade up by his face, admiring the way the sunset flickered off it.

"He does not take kindly to being asked to wait." He growled, before nimbly running towards Bruce, who brought up his sword to block the incoming attack. He quickly countered with a side-step, swiping sideways with the huge weapon, but the enemy was too fast for him, leaping up and actually landing on the blade, forcing it down into the ground, bringing the arm-blade down across Bruce's face, causing a deep gash that ran from his forehead down to his upper lip, spilling crimson over the floor, staining the thick cover of dying leaves. He yelled out in pain, before dropping to the floor, clutching his face in agony. The man deftly hopped off the blade, grabbing him roughly by his long mussed brown hair. "Like I said, my master wishes to see you." He whispered, before they both vanished into thin air.

"Neil, they've got Bruce!" Calum shouted, trying not to get killed by the five clones approaching from all sides.

"What? How!" He replied over the deafening sound of gunfire and magic explosions. However, Calum didn't have chance to reply, as a clone had leapt onto his back, and was now trying to stab through his armour. Neil looked around at the devastation. Black Mages and Genomes were running around all over the place, mostly getting shot or stabbed to death. He turned to look at the Imaginary Numbers approaching from his front, his body enveloped in a bright white light, before a huge shadow appeared in the sky. It looked like a bird, but from each part of it's body hung assorted golden rings, and it's leathery wings were beautifully multicoloured and hue. It hung there for a few seconds, surveying the battlefield with a watchful eye, before diving down and clawing several Imaginary Numbers to pieces. It wasn't long before most of the enemy was dead, or dying.

Neil fell to the floor, exhausted from summoning, the light now gone from his body. He looked at the spot where Bruce had vanished.

"Well this isn't good." Calum muttered, wiping clone blood off his face.

"We really need to get Alexandria, and fast, before any more of us happen to perish." He explained, breathing heavily.

* * *

**Samantha's Group**

The road was filled with flaming debris, cars thrown into tree trunks, buildings smashed to pieces, the smoke of hundreds of fires turning the sky a deep black. Sam ran up the road ahead towards her house, which miraculously was still in one piece. Kuja and Joachim hung around outside, watching cautiously for any signs of life. She burst in through the front door, only to find that the house was completely abandoned, with no signs of life whatsoever. Dejected, she turned to walk out of the door, only to see that both Kuja and Joachim had vanished, leaving the street completely empty.

"What the hell?" She stepped forward, only to see Joachim hanging limply out of a tree, and Kuja leaning against another tree, covered with cuts, looking in shock at the man standing over him, rapier ready to strike a finishing blow. Without even thinking, Sam drew out the katana from it's sheath, running at full speed towards this merciless warrior. With a clang, her blade met his, without him even bothering to look.

"Get the hell away from him." She growled.

"So we meet again..." He muttered, turning around to face her. She recognised him as the man who had attacked her in the Desert Palace, his long-ish silver hair glowing dully in the smoky light. She kept her blade perfectly aligned with his, praying that she could fight properly. "Still haven't learnt your lesson?" He swept his rapier up suddenly, knocking her off balance, and before she could react, he had thrust it painfully into her abdomen, prompting a yell of pain and a soft whimper. "You humans are pathetic." He twisted it the left, causing her to gasp. "You can't even protect yourself, let alone the ones you love." He twisted it again, this time to the far right. Blood dripped across the dirt strewn floor, splattering the fine layer of dust that had settled there.

Her mind simply began to shut down, trying desperately to stop the pain. It was at that moment she heard a soft female voice from deep down in her subconscious.

"_Let us handle this."_

"_Who are you?" _She thought, wincing as he twisted the blade currently buried in her body.

"_Our name is Ebony, and we can help you if you let us." _She thought about her options at this moment. Either she could continue to get skewered by this man, or she could let a disembodied voice she'd known for barely fifteen seconds control her. She began to shudder. "_Just relax."_ The voice said, as she felt the distantly familiar feeling of power flow through her body. She looked up into the eyes of the enemy, her head slightly twisted to left, a manic grin plastered across her face. An instant later the transformation began, her clothing being replaced with dirtied, bloody bandages, her skin becoming an extreme pale, her face becoming drawn and gaunt, her eyes becoming nothing but dark endless pits of black. Her hair swept back, changing into thin tendrils of black, and the transformation was complete.

"We're going to rip out your guts and feast on your entrails." She said, before throwing him backwards and pulling the blade out of her body, throwing it aside. Lethal black claws slid out of her fingers, clicking together in anticipation. Suddenly, she was flung into the wall by a well-aimed thunder spell that collided with her chest. She leapt to an inhuman height, before landing right behind him and launching her claws into his back. Her ran forwards, pulling her claws out in the momentum with a horrific squishing sound. He landed on the floor quite heavily, but grabbed his weapon and jumped back up, spinning and ramming the blade down towards her.

Ebony/Samantha let out a incredible inhuman shriek as the blade went into her body through her right shoulder, down through the flesh and vital organs, and tore out of her back, barely missing her spine. Everything paused for a second, before she began to transform back into her human form, falling into unconsciousness, straight into the man's waiting arms. His face bore a horrifying smile.

"I think I'll have my fun." He whispered, right before he heard two well-defined clicks behind his head. He turned to see down the barrels of two handguns, both of them Joachim's, while one had been borrowed and now rested in Kuja's hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Kuja growled, weak from all the wounds in his body, yet with a fierce fire burning deep in his soul. He wasn't about to let this sick monster defile the woman under his protection.

Joachim, on the other hand, had a dark grin on his face.

"Hey Styx, remember me?" He asked. Styx looked at his face.

"Hmmm, I usually have a good memory for faces. I must say I've never met you before." He looked a little puzzled.

"Pity. Regardless, the party's over."

"On the contrary, I think it's just--"

Bang. Bang.

His body toppled over backwards, hitting the blood-covered dusty road with a thud.

"That's for defiling Eve, bastard." Joachim muttered. Kuja leant down next to Samantha's prone body. He slowly removed the blade, grabbing the handle and pulling it out, accompanied by a slurp as air filled the gap left by the rapier. He tried to concentrate on healing her, but was just too wounded to cast any magic at all. Joachim joined him, closing his eyes in concentration, and Kuja watched amazed as the wounds slowly closed up, leaving barely a mark.

"I didn't know you were a white mage." He commented. Joachim smiled faintly.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." He replied mysteriously. "White magic won't be able to heal some of these wounds. Her spirit is too drained from transforming."

"Well what can we can do?"

"I have an idea, I think it will appeal to her too." He leant forwards and whispered the idea into Kuja's ear. He looked a little shocked for a second.

"You must be joking." He replied instinctively. Joachim shook his head.

"No, it's the best way you can help her at the moment." He paused, looking blankly at the floor. "I know because someone did it to me." Kuja looked down at her prone body. "If you don't, she's going to die. She'll simply cease to exist." Kuja looked down at Joachim, but was a little shocked to see him almost flicker for a second, as if he wasn't fully there. He sighed dejectedly. He was never going to be able to live this down.

Reluctantly, he leaned forwards, kissing her. He suddenly began to feel weak all over, as if his very being was draining from his body.

"It's working, just carry on." Joachim encouraged him. His mind began to blank out slightly, but even he could see that she was becoming stronger every second. He carried on kissing her until he couldn't take any more, falling over to the side in exhaustion.

"Couldn't you have done that instead?" Kuja panted at Joachim.

"Nope, it had to be you. I have my reasons."

"And why is that exactly?"

"Because she was awake through the whole thing." He hid a snigger. Kuja looked at Samantha, who was staring at him in shock, her cheeks the same colour of a tomato.

"Oh you bastard." Kuja muttered at Joachim.

"You two make the perfect couple." He chuckled. "You're both as scared of each other as those other two."

"Which other two?" He sighed.

"Never mind." He pulled them both to their feet, and they were both surprised to see that he was also wearing leather gloves. He noticed their stares. "I suffer the same curse she does. That's why I couldn't help her." He looked into the sky, noticing stars twinkling through the thick smoke that masked the sky. "C'mon, we'd better get some rest for the night." He led them into Samantha's house, and they followed wearily behind him. Kuja couldn't help but feel that Joachim had some ulterior motives, but he dismissed these thoughts as mild paranoia.

* * *

Right, that's it for now. What's going to happen to Bruce? what are Joachim's ulterior motives? Will Chris and the others make it to London in time? Why am I asking you lot? I'm the one writing it!

See ya later

Chris


	11. Chapter 10: Dead London

Disclaimer: Anything that obviously has something to do with Final Fantasy 9 is owned by Square-Enix, and if you have any queries about ownership of any item, please contact me at for further information. If you want to use any of my original characters, or any original concepts in this piece of fiction, then please contact me before doing so, or I'll hunt you down and kick your ass.

A/N: Anyway, there's quite a bit of disaster going on here tonight, and if anyone of you read my blog (link in the bio), then the results here are absolutely nothing to do with what's going on in my personal life at the moment. I recently ran through where I wanted this story to go, how I wanted it to end, how I wanted the characters to interact, so I now have a clear idea of what to do next. This means that not only will I update more often, but there'll be a hell of a lot more foreshadowing too. Plus (hopefully) there won't be too many plot holes too. XP As the Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy says, suspense is still a major killer in the universe, so I'll stop ranting and get on with it!

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Dead London

* * *

**_

**Chris's Group**

The light trickled into the room through the clean net curtains, light patterns dancing on my opening eyes. I stirred slowly, reluctant to awake. It was hard to believe that there was a war on, when I looked out through the window and saw nothing but peaceful green fields and blue skies. I laid back in the comfortable bed, trying to remember a dream I'd had during my peaceful night's sleep. It had been much nicer than the usual death and destruction that usually filled them. I looked around the bed, and saw clothes on the floor, clothes that did not belong to me lay strewn carelessly across the floor. It was at the instant when I felt something stir beside me that I realised that it may not have been a dream. Melissa was lying right next to me, still sleeping peacefully, a distant smile on her face, as thought she was dreaming. I ran my fingers softly across her side, feeling her silky soft skin. She opened her eyes, gazing into mine in a way that made a shiver run up my spine.

"Sleep well?" She whispered.

"Next to you, who wouldn't?" I smiled as I responded.

---

After we'd finished getting dressed, Eve came knocking, before quietly opening the door. She grinned.

"Thought so." She laughed and went back outside. Melissa's face reddened slightly, and I grabbed by the waist and carried her laughing out of the room. Before long, we were back on the road. Even though we were heading off to what could be certain death, there was a certain bubbliness in my heart that no bad news could destroy.

---

The day passed by, and we finally reached the outer limits of London. Thick columns of smoke rose from within the once great city, blacking out the leaden sky. Deep within, I could hear the faint sounds and shudders from explosions, and we headed on in, the explosions getting louder and heavier. Every now and then, a wounded civilian would scramble past us, trying desperately to escape the chaos within the city. When we reached the houses of Parliament, the full scale of the destruction grew blazingly apparent. Big Ben struck out, indicating that it was currently seven o'clock in the evening. Around the important landmark were positioned hundreds of soldiers, who had set this place up as their operational base, rushing backwards and forwards, passing messages to each other urgently. Next to the river bank were six mounted rocket launchers, technicians standing by.

"Bows and arrows against the lightning." Melissa murmured. "They haven't seen the Titans yet." Suddenly, as if on cue, the ground started to thunder. Windows shattered, soldiers ran to their positions, and I could only watched helplessly as the Titan I had seen before strode into sight. Clustered around it, advancing slightly more quickly, were the smaller machines, only mounted on four legs, but still as big as a house. Instantly, the six launchers I had seen before spoke, firing a salvo at one of the smaller machines. The rockets impacted heavily with into it's side, blowing both it's left legs off in a series of explosions. It flailed around before falling to the floor, causing a shudder across the earth beneath us, fire spilling out of it's shattered corpse. A group of Imaginary Numbers charged across the bridge in front of us, causing a full scale fire-fight with the brave soldiers who had taken up position in the area. Again the launchers spoke, but this time, the Titan sent them to oblivion, firing a single shot that lifted every person, including our small trio, several feet into the air in a massive explosion. The Titan stood up straight, towering over everything in the area, charging up another shot. Eve suddenly ran forwards, grabbing one of the hand-held rocket launchers a dead soldier had rather carelessly dropped. She pointed it towards the approaching Titan, striking it in one of the joints of it's six legs. The rocket blew apart all the inner workings rather loudly, causing the leg to grow limp. However, there were still another five to go, and the Titan had finished charging it's cannon. She turned to look at the other soldiers that were left alive.

"Aim for the leg joints! It's useless attacking the main body, it's far too strong!" Some of them crawled to their feet, grabbing their heavy weapons, firing off more and more shots, streaking into the towering beast. I turned to notice more Imaginary Numbers moving in across the bridge behind, so I launched off a Flare spell right into the centre of the group, sending them flying in random directions. I suddenly felt a horrific pain in my chest, and looked down to see a small hole the size of an acorn, blood bubbling out of it with each breath I took. I sat down, clutching the wound in a vain attempt to slow the bleeding.

"We'd better run...now!" Melissa shouted, pointing to the crippled Titan, which was flailing about, three of it's legs out of action. She dragged me to my feet, and I stumbled after her, the shock of the gunshot wound in my chest slowing my movement considerably. My hands were trembling out of control, as we ran onto the bridge, trying desperately to escape the falling monster.

The stumbling Titan fell, landing directly on the houses of Parliament, decapitating Big Ben and blowing the place apart in one fell swoop, the resulting explosion blowing the both of us off our feet, sending a great pain through my right thigh, as I felt a chunk of shrapnel blow it's way through my upper leg. I panicked as the bridge beneath us started to crack through the sheer impact it had just suffered, slowly breaking into pieces. My heart jumped out through my throat as I saw Melissa slip into one of the cracks, and I dived over, grabbing her hand to stop her from falling. I could see the water, tainted red with the blood of thousands of innocents, rushing in a mass torrent beneath us.

"Don't let go!" She pleaded. I felt my grip on her hand slowly slipping, my hands slick with sweat and blood. I shouted out in despair as she slipped away, falling several feet into the swirling torrent below. I scrambled to my feet, and caught one last glimpse of her despairing face, as the waters swept her away from me.

* * *

**Neil's Group**

The ocean was quite calm, which was a brief respite in the recent adventures that had befell the group. Most of the surviving Black Mages and Genomes were heading towards Alexandria too, a fleet of boats slowly drifting them towards their target. The boats were modified fishing ships, the long slender sails baring a golden star symbol cupped in two hands, the symbol of Black Mage Village.

Neil was stood beneath the deck, with the chocobo known as Bobby Corwen. He had grown considerably in five years, becoming a strong yet gentle adult chocobo, his golden yellow feathers were brilliantly soft to touch.

Neil was thinking hard. Sure, he'd always thought Bruce was an arrogant idiot, but that didn't prevent the slight feeling of pity he had for the poor guy. No doubt he would suffer a horrible death at the hands of the enemy. He gave Bobby Corwen one last stroke before heading out onto the deck, standing beside Mikoto, who was busy viewing the harbour barely visible in the far distance.

"So...what were those things?" Mikoto inquired. Neil sighed and explained the whole story to her. She blinked for a few seconds, mostly in surprise. "So they are from another world?"

"Basically."

"Funny. I always thought that we were alone in the universe, yet here are soulless creations, created solely to destroy. It is a stark reminder of the way we Genomes could have turned out." She paused, before looking determined. "This man, Draco, he needs to be stopped. He's exploiting those with no choice in life, and for that he must pay." She murmured, looking out to sea.

* * *

**Samantha's Group**

The sun filtered in through the smoky skies, shining light into the room. Kuja slowly awoke, gently shifting Samantha, who's head was resting on his shoulder, sleeping peacefully. He climbed down the steep staircase and went into the living room, where Joachim was sat directly in the middle on a wooden chair, his eyes closed in exhaustion. Kuja moved out into the room, looking out of the window at the devastated street in front of the house.

"Horrible, isn't it?" He heard Joachim mutter. He turned to see the young man staring directly at him, his arms folded. "I'm a light sleeper." He explained.

"Anything else I should know?" Kuja asked.

"Oh, a lot more. But most of it I cannot tell you." He glanced at the doorway leading upstairs, listening carefully, before lowering his voice. "You're growing quite attached to her, aren't you?" Kuja faltered for a second. He couldn't deny it, there was definitely something about her that piqued his interest, yet he didn't know what it was.

"What makes you think that?" Joachim lifted his head backwards, closing his shining blue eyes. He stood up and joined Kuja at the window.

"Do you believe in fate, Kuja?"

"What?"

"Do you believe that there is a set path we are put on, and that path is the one we must tread. One that we are given when we are born into this world."

"I don't know. I used to think that what I was doing was all that I could do. Then Zidane and the others rescued me from this fate, and they saved me. Now I'm not so sure, everything I have done so far I feel has been leading up to something, but what that something is escapes description." He explained. Joachim nodded.

"I ask because if we are all consigned to a fate, then I will not be around much longer. When I was given this mission, I was told that it was impossible that I would return alive."

"How would you know if it is impossible?"

"Because I have seen what is about to happen, and I know my place in this story." He shifted suddenly, cocking his head to one side, listening. "Looks like sleeping beauty just woke up. I bet she'll get a shock in a second when she figures out you've moved." Almost on cue, there were rapid footsteps upstairs, and her worried face popped around the doorway.

"Oh, I thought something had happened! Don't do that!"

"What did I tell you?" Joachim whispered, turning back to the window.

"I'm going to have a shower, I wanna get out of these bloody clothes." She informed, casting a suspicious look across the two men at the window. "No peeking!" She pointed out, before running back off upstairs, accompanied by the sound of running water.

"How do you know so much about us?" Kuja turned to Joachim.

"Let's just say that we're more alike than you think."

* * *

**Chris's Group**

There were a dozen dead bodies in the road, their body fluids splattered across the floor, painting a horrific painting of death and destruction. The sun was setting on the distant horizon, swaying unnervingly through the smoke as it slowly died. I had seen too many bodies in the streets of London, a fine dust settling over everyone, softening their outlines in the dying light.

But I didn't care.

I limped slowly out onto the ruined bridge, looking at the body of the fallen Titan as it lay in it's grave on top of the charred skeleton of this country's government headquarters, lying next to the shattered stump of our greatest monument.

But I didn't care.

All I cared about was one person in this city of the dead, and she had gone, swept away in a cruel twist of fate. My heart felt like it had been shattered into a million sharp fragments, tearing apart my insides every time I moved. My breathing was starting to sound haggard, the bullet wound in my chest oozing bubbling blood slowly. What was I doing here? Why was I still alive, while London lay mourning in it's dark veil? Why was I alive when the one person I loved had been taken from me? I felt intolerably lonely, as I limped closer and closer to the smashed edge of the bridge. I was inhumanly weary, footsore, hungry, thirsty, slowly dying from the numerous wounds that pitted my body. I dropped to my knees in anguish, screaming into the sky.

"Why? What have I done to deserve this?" I interrogated the powers-that-be, slowly going mad from the pain that could not be healed. At that point, my body, my very soul, and everything else, simply gave up. I slumped to the floor, letting the darkness swallow me.

_Just let me die..._

_---_

Meanwhile, Melissa wandered alone, tired, soaked wet through, shivering in the cold, searching each body she found for any sign of the one she was looking for. Her heart felt as though someone had shoved needles into each of the vital parts, each pump of blood was unbearably painful, each breath she took was strained. She wiped the combination of blood and water out of her eyes, trembling with fear, pain and cold. To think that this morning she had been so happy and at peace with the world, all the pain and suffering, all the stress she had suffered, gone in one night of passion. Now that gap had been replaced with a deep feeling of grief and loss.

She noticed a thin line of red droplets on the dusty floor, still fresh and wet in the dying sunlight. Her hopes raised significantly, giving her the strength to keep trudging on, following the line of blood towards the place where she had last seen him. Finally, she reached the ruined bridge, covered in bodies, and her heart dropped out of her body. Amongst the bodies was the one she had been searching for, lying broken and defeated in the middle of the graveyard. She ran to his side, unable to hold back the tears. His face was a gaunt white, his body perfectly still. She gently wiped a sliver of crimson away from his face with trembling hands, before resting her head on his silent chest and sobbing openly, the floodgates open.

After a few minutes, she became aware of someone standing behind her. She turned to see Eve, staring numbly at the sight before her. She silently knelt beside Chris, a fierce look of determination in her eyes. She placed her hands just above his heart, causing his body to jerk suddenly. She took them off, feeling for a pulse at his neck, before trying again, watching as his body jumped off the ground once again.

---

_Just let me die..._ My subconscious pleaded, yet I could feel something, a deep feeling of refusal, like some giant voice deep within boomed _NO._ I could slowly feel life emerging from deep recesses within, my body waking up once more. Slowly but surely, light began to emerge into my eyes, and all the pain, the suffering, everything came rushing back in an unbearable montage of rapid images.

Suddenly, it stopped. I could see the smoky sky above, and my spirits rose as I saw the one object of my love stood, tears streaking her face, water dribbling from her soaked shivering body.

"Am...am I dead?" I mumbled as loudly as I could, which sounded more like a whisper.

"Far from it." Eve replied, just out of my line of sight. I tried moving my arms, and the air was suddenly crushed from my lungs as Melissa jumped on top of me, crying with happiness.

"I thought I'd lost you." I whispered into her ear, her soaked body dampening mine. "I can't live without you." I silently thanked whoever it was above who had brought her to me.

* * *

**Samantha's Group**

The trio continued their weary way along the road, back towards Amsterdam. If there was anyone left alive, then there might still be a chance to alert others to this threat. The highway was scattered with smashed up cars, bodies hanging out of windows, all was still.

Suddenly, a giant aircraft soared overhead, kicking up the fine layer of dust that had settled in the road. It looked very familiar, like a more swept back smaller version of the Destiny. It swung through the air and landed just in front of them, a distant ethereal figure hopping out of the carrying area of the airship.

"Hurry up! We've got to get out of here now!" Rayth shouted, dragging his rifle out of the ship and taking aim towards them. After he fired the first shot, Kuja realised that he was not aiming at them, but at the clone that had been standing behind them, about to strike. Suddenly, Imaginary Numbers started popping out all over the place, jumping down from trees, crawling out from under cars, firing like maniacs towards them. Sam drew her blade, slicing into the nearest one that was between them and the safety of the airship, cutting a deep gash right across it's chest. The next thrust went straight through it's heart, killing it instantly. She stood back, proud that she had just achieved her first kill. That was right before the bullet shot straight through her side, causing her to cry out in pain. Rayth retaliated with a expert shot that knocked two clone's heads off in a single shot. Kuja was firing spells at anything that moved and looked remotely hostile. Joachim was firing bullets in every direction, his handguns weaving an artful tapestry of destruction, junctioned with the black magic in his body, caused the bullet trails to shine many different colours. At that point, he saw what had happened up ahead, Kuja helping Sam along towards the airship. He turned to face the opponents.

"No-one gets past this point alive!" He shouted to the clones, his body slowly transforming, long black claws sliding out of his fingers. When the transformation was finished, he looked even more terrifying than normal. He turned to shout back at the others.

"Flee, my queen." He said, his dark eyes focusing on Sam.

"_Get us out of here."_ She heard Ebony order in her head. On the one hand, she had been told to run. However, she couldn't just leave Joachim behind. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about him too much, as the enemy didn't last long with him. He ran at superhuman speeds to dive onto the airship, transforming back to his original form, panting breathlessly. Sam looked at Rayth, who was climbing into the pilot's seat.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to go and pick up Chris and Melissa."

"What about Eve?"

"Eve?" He looked a little puzzled for a second, and shook his head in annoyance. "Why do you insist on picking up more useless lifeforms on your travels?"  
"Hey, I happen to feel quite strongly for that useless lifeform, thank you very much." Joachim chipped in, pointing his finger in the air to make his point. Sam suddenly felt a shiver run up her spine, and a sudden urge to do things best not described.

"_Ah, looks like it's almost that time of the year again." _She heard Ebony gleefully jabber.

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_You'll soon find out." _Somehow, Sam really didn't like the sound of that.

* * *

**Neil's Group**

Neil ran up the steps into Alexandria Castle, trying to find Dagger. Suddenly, he noticed Steiner standing by the staircase to the upstairs.

"Master Day, I wasn't expecting you back so soon." He noted in surprise.

"No time to talk Rusty, where's the Queen?"

"She's upstairs with Zidane, why?"

"Because there happens to be a rather large army on the way here." Steiner's face paled.

"Surely you jest!"

"Nope, they've already attacked Black Mage Village, and it's highly possible that we'll be next."

"He's right. You have to sound the alert now, or this entire continent will fall." Mikoto backed Neil up.

"What's all the noise down here?" He heard Dagger's voice floating down the staircase. She ascended gracefully, before noticing Neil in with a puzzled look. "Back so early?"

"Your majesty, we need to prepare the defenses of this city."

"What in the heavens are you talking about?" She really looked puzzled now, but stumbled as the ground began to steadily shake. Neil, Calum and Mikoto all looked around towards the front of the sprawling city in terror.

"They're here..." He whispered.

* * *

**Chris's Group**

We must have sat there locked in a deep embrace for well over an hour. What more was there we could do? I could quite visibly see that the entire British government had been wiped out in the attack. There was no-one else to warn, no way of contacting any other country. I sat, arms around Melissa, waiting silently for some sort of plan to formulate in my head, when I noticed a shop window across the road burst into life, each television set in the display turned on, scattering an eerie light across the darkened street. The scene on the televisions were that of a complex looking command centre, people rushing around in the background, carrying important-looking documents to others. In the very centre of the screen, standing in front a panel showing all sorts of complicated read-outs, stood Vincent, gazing into the camera with a mixed look of sorrow and determination in his eyes.

"_People of Earth, I do not mean to cause any panic. Who I am is not important, but you must know by now that not only your world, but the entire universe, is in grave danger. The forces that have attacked your cities have retreated. To where, we are not sure, but we are doing everything in our power to ensure that this disaster does not go avenged." _He paused for a second._ "As for my operatives, you know who you are, the call has been made to make a complete withdrawal to headquarters, and to await further instructions. As for the people of Earth, I cannot guarantee we will win this war, but I can assure you that all precautions will be made to ensure that life will go on, and that the death and destruction of those we love will not have been in vain. Thank you for your time." _He bowed to the camera, before all the screens once again fell dark and silent. We all stared numbly at each other. Draco's forces had retreated? Why? He'd had us on the run, why stop now? Why not finish us off? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by bright searchlights sweeping over the city, like a knife cuts through butter. I couldn't quite make out the object that was causing this, but I could certainly make a good guess. As it turned out, my guess was correct, and the Thunderchild swooped down in all her glory, sweeping her searchlights across us, and landing swiftly at the end of the trashed street was sat on. I climbed wearily to my feet, the all-over joy of finding Melissa being nibbled on annoyingly by the pain from the multiple wounds I was suffering from. She helped me along, putting my arm around her shoulder and aiding my smashed leg in walking. Eve kept a look out around us, holding an arm-blade that had obviously been stolen from an Imaginary Number out, ready to use it at any opportunity.

Finally, we made it to the waiting airship, her slender wings folded up neatly against her body to prevent them smashing against the bombed-out buildings around her. As we climbed on board, I realised with a sweeping joy that some of the others had made it too. Kuja sat on a small metal bench, holding a sleeping Samantha, with a nod of approval in my direction. Eve ran forward and swung her arms around Joachim, smiling with relief.

"How'd things go?" I asked Kuja, who nudged the sleeping girl next to him.

"Not too bad I suppose, it could have been a lot worse."

"Did she find her parents?"

"No, the house was abandoned when we got there. We met a little trouble though, one of those men from the palace turned up. It was a close one though, if she hadn't distracted him, then we wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Distracted?"

"Yeah, she ran out and attacked him. She got wounded though, but that gave us enough time to recover and take him out." I looked down at her, while she snuggled against his softly clothed arm, smiling a little. I was impressed, if she'd truly taken on one of those warriors alone, then she'd certainly grown a lot over the past few days. Either that, or she'd been desperate.

"I see you two have really kicked off together, eh?" He rolled his eyes.

"How many people are going to say that before I have to start hurting them?" Melissa chuckled behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. He raised an eyebrow. "Looks who's talking."

"At least I can admit it, you can't seriously tell me that there's no feelings in that cold heart of yours for the vulnerable little girl currently clinging to your arm?" He faltered for a second. "Relax about it, just let things take their natural flow. You've been through enough over the years anyway, it's about time you started be enjoying yourself a bit!"

"Heh, he's going to regret that over the next few days." Joachim chuckled.

"Why would that be?"

"I have a feeling that the wraith inside her is going to be wanting a little...more...from that relationship soon." I looked at him puzzled, and Kuja looked a little surprised.

"Will you stop being so cryptic and just tell me what's going on!" Kuja groaned.

"Hey, you'll be seeing it in me soon enough." Eve looked at him, a mixed look of anticipation and worry on her face.

"Oh damn, I forgot about that."

"If you lot have quite finished, we have to get to Alexandria pretty quickly." I heard Rayth shout from the front of the ship.

"What's the matter?" Melissa asked, looking a little worried.

"We're meeting up with Omega Wing outside Alexandria. We've had reports of a massive army coming in from the south, and they're going to need all the help they can get."

"What happened with the rest of the enemy?" I asked, hearing him sigh.

"I don't know, they just vanished suddenly. Even our military strategists haven't figured out exactly what's going on. It's as if they've gone into hiding." He looked at the panel in front of him, which had been quite angrily flashing red lights at him for the past minute. "Anyway, Vincent should be able to explain in more detail when we get back. Right now, we've got to get Alexandria and help them out." I nodded, plonking myself down on the bench next to Eve and Joachim, wincing in pain from the numerous wounds in my body. However, when Melissa sat next to me and snuggled up for a quick nap, I quickly forgot about everything. I could only hope that we could get to Alexandria before anything too bad happened.

* * *

That's your lot for the moment. If you're wondering why all this relationship stuff's going on, let's just say that there's a pretty big reason...well, two big reasons, why it's going like this. It has something to do with the final part of the trilogy, so you'll have to bear with me for the next few chapters while everything (ahem) sorts itself out. So, in other words, I may have to up the rating a bit XD.

Au revoir, mes amis!

_Chris_


	12. Chapter 11: The Eye Of The Storm

Disclaimer: Check out the earlier disclaimers, and if you have any queries, please contact me at my e-mail address (which it won't let me post here, just check in teh bio)

So much for quick updates, it doesn't exactly give much chance for reviews. Never mind, thanks to the hit counter, I know that people have been reading, so that makes me happy. As for the rating? I've upped it a bit because I happen to know from first-hand experience that can be a little over zealous with taking off fics that are "inappropriate". So, I've put the rating up to an M. If you're under sixteen, you shouldn't be reading this!

Only kidding. It's only one or two chapters that have anything even close to being offensive, and I will put warnings up to those who might be dissuaded from reading anything with even the slightest hint of sex. So if you don't like it, then you can skip ahead when I update later! I just don't want to lose another fic at the hands of the admins!

**Warning! This chapter contains sexual references! Those with weak hearts should skip ahead to the next chapter when it arrives.

* * *

**

_**Chapter 11: The Eye Of The Storm

* * *

**_

**Neil's Group**

They barely had any chance to react when they saw the Titan on the horizon, emerging at it's full height, emitting a deafening screech that caused the people of the grand city to scatter. They ran every direction at once, trying to find somewhere to run to, only to be pounced on by Imaginary Numbers appearing out of the air. Fortunately, the people of Alexandria were not alone. The Black Mages and Genomes that had arrived moments earlier struck the enemy hard, and streaks of magic were visible even on the steps into Alexandria Castle, where Neil and the others stood, watching agape as the entire city erupted into chaos.

"Any orders, your majesty?" Steiner turned to Dagger, who looked like she'd faint at any moment. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now was not the time to panic, now was the time for clear and concise action.

"Right, Aldebert, I want you to get Beatrix, and go down to see what you can do down there. Get some of the Pluto Knights to contact our allies, we'll need all the help we can get." Steiner bowed and ran off, his armour clanking in the distance. "Neil, I need you up here. You know more about this enemy than we do, so we're going to need you to explain how they work."

"I don't know too much about them, but I'll do what I can." He nodded.

"As for the rest of you, go down to the city and help in any way you can." Mikoto and Calum nodded, turning and running off towards the city. She turned to Neil. "What can you tell me?"

Steadily, the Titan strode towards the city, it's six stomping feet crushing anything beneath them, it's war cry echoing across the entire continent. Slowly but surely, it's cannon began to charge, pointing directly at the grand castle in the distance.

Before it could fire, it was suddenly hit by a huge barrage of missiles and other assorted explosives from the right, the ammunition pounding off it's armour. It looked at the source of the attack, and saw several aircraft flying straight towards it, before performing elegant maneuvers and turning around for another attack. Meanwhile, another smaller group of ships, lead by a particularly magnificent-looking airship, headed towards the embattled city below.

Dagger and Neil stood gobsmacked, watching these developments with awe. The small group of airships landed in assorted places around the city, swooping down and depositing their cargo, which happened to be a large amount of black armoured soldiers, holding weapons that looked like the illegitimate offspring of a relationship between a scythe and an automatic rifle. While this was happening, the elegant airship that had lead them in parked itself right in front of the castle, it's wings folding neatly against it's body. The back slowly opened, revealing six rather familiar figures, weapons out and ready.

---

I looked at the shocked pair in front of us, and couldn't help but smile.

"Glad to see someone's still in one piece." I shouted to Neil.

"What are you doing here!" He replied as we climbed out of the Thunderchild.

"We figured you'd need the help, when we heard about what was heading towards this place."

"Well that's all fine of course, but how can we beat that thing?" I turned to look at the Titan looking highly confused at the squadron of Falcons that were attacking it, not knowing which way to turn.

"I don't know, looks like their doing a pretty good job of it so far." Rayth muttered, following us off the ship, his long rifle clasped in his hands. He pointed the rifle at the approaching Titan, aiming carefully, before firing a single shot that streaked through the air and went straight into the bridge of the machine. It stumbled for a few seconds, before standing stock still. He turned to look at us. "They should really stop putting the controls for moving it in plain sight on the bridge." Even I was shocked at this. I knew he was a good sniper and all, but the Titan was well over a mile away. It would have been almost impossible to make that shot.

Fortunately, it wasn't standing much longer, as the Falcons attacking it blew apart it's legs, each shuddering explosion caused the ground beneath us to shake, before the ailing Titan fell to the ground, shaking everyone off their feet. Except of course for Rayth, who the laws of gravity didn't seem to apply to, still standing stock still, staring at the fallen monstrosity.

"That's the last of the Titans in Gaia." He reported. "The threat is over for now."

"What about the mess down in the city, we're still under attack you know!" Neil pointed out.

"Without a mother node like a Titan or some other form of base, orders cannot reach the Imaginary Numbers. They'll stand there and let you beat the stuffing out of them." Sure enough, the sound of gunfire had ceased, and an eerie silence had fallen across the city.

"Wow." Samantha whispered. "That's a one heck of a weakness."

"Yes, well Draco couldn't create a clone of a person's spirit, so as a result, they have to be controlled by a central node, which in turn sends all of it's orders to the nodes on the Titans. That's why they're built to last." Rayth explained.

"So what now?" Dagger asked the gaunt figure in front of her.

"Now I need to return to Zion, along with the rest of you." He indicated to the light warriors around him. "We need to bring you up to speed on this." With that, he climbed on board the Thunderchild. I turned to see Calum and Mikoto running up the courtyard.

"They've stopped attacking, they're just standing there!"Calum reported, while Mikoto looked in shock at her brother.

"You're alive?" She whispered in shock. Kuja nodded.

"It seems like it." Just then, Zidane swung down and stood next to Dagger, gently grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Is everything alright? What's happe..." He stopped mid-sentence. "I guess this is what you call a heart-warming family reunion." He smiled at his brother and sister, before noticing who was standing next to Kuja and raising an eyebrow. "I never thought I'd see the day." He shook his head in disbelief, before laughing his head off.

"What? Am I going to have to start hurting you too?" Kuja sighed, looking at the sky in despair.

"Hey, relax, I'm just messing with ya." He chuckled, giving his brother a friendly hug.

"Congratulations on tying the knot, by the way. I didn't have chance to say it due to the unforeseen circumstances at the ceremony." He hugged his brother back. Mikoto actually looked faintly happy for once.

"Anyway, if you guys have quite finished, we've gotta be heading back to Zion." Rayth shouted out from the ship. Kuja nodded, and looked at his brother.

"I'd come too, but we've got a heck of a mess to clean up." He indicated at the Titan lying smashed up in front of Alexandria. "Give me a shout next time you come over." Everyone started to climb back onto the ship. I turned to Dagger.

"Oh, by the way. We'll leave a platoon of Reapers here, just in case. Just give them orders, and they'll sort out anything you want them to." I informed the regal figure standing next to Zidane. She nodded, waving at us, Zidane standing with his arm around her shoulders as the Thunderchild slowly rose into the air and shot out into the sky, soaring at incredible speeds.

---

We walked into the Zion Control Room, and I couldn't help but stare at the sheer amount of complicated equipment that had been stuffed into the room. Complex arrays of panels flashing different images at technicians who sat in front of them, millions upon millions of buttons all over the place, and a colossal screen mounted right at the front of the bustling room, showing a gigantic map of both Earth and Gaia that spread across the entire wall. Rayth guided us into a glass walled room at the back of the control room, where Vincent sat reading some important looking documents, a look of concern on his face. He looked up and smiled at our arrival.

"Good to see that you're still alive." He greeted us, indicating we should sit down in the chairs provided. Once we were seated, he began to explain the situation.

Draco's forces had completely vanished off the face of both planets. Originally, they had used the warp gates at the Desert Palace, one directly in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, and one on Horizon Road, which was a place just south of where Sanubia used to be. Apparently, they had used the warp gates to allow the army to pass from Erebus, where Draco had been contained, to our worlds. However, once the initial attack had ended, they had simply vanished. There had been a slight skirmish outside Zion, but it had been nothing compared to the attack two hundred years ago, which indicated to us that either he hasn't got as much as he used to, or that he's holding back for something.

"So that's all you know?" I asked, and he nodded quite simply.

"Basically, there's nothing we can do until our scouts can find where they have run off to. You can relax for a bit here in Zion, if you like." At that point, Samantha shuddered quite violently. "What's wrong?" He asked, looking a little concerned.

"Long time no see, Vincent." Her voice had dramatically altered, becoming something much more sinister. Vincent's face flashed with a combination of confusion and recognition.

"No, that can't be. Ebony? I haven't seen you in--"

"Two hundred and seven years, three hundred and sixty four days, six hours, thirty-two minutes and seventeen seconds. Like we said, it's been a long time."

"You seem to have been holding out quite well."

"Likewise, you don't seem that much different to when we last saw you."

"Christ, that was a week I'll never forget." He looked back in memory. I was a little shocked to say the least.

"Sorry, who are you again?" I asked. Samantha (or Ebony, I couldn't really tell) turned to me, with a slight smile.

"Ebony, Queen of Wraiths, pleased to meet you. We believe the last time we met was in quite violent circumstances." I remembered the scene in the Desert Palace, and what was left of that young man she had attacked. She turned back to Vincent. "Your successor?" He nodded, and she turned back. "It looks like you have what it takes." With that, she turned back to my ancestor. "As you can see, we've taken a little spot in this one's heart. We've come with news that might interest you."

"Really?"

"Yes, we are considering a truce between Wraiths and Spiritseers. It has become blatantly apparent that Draco is a threat to both our existences, correct?"

"That is correct."

"Well, as long as you allow us to feed when we need to, in order to survive, we see no reason why we couldn't co-exist peacefully."

"I see no problem with that. It's good to have you on board." Vincent leant forward to shake her hand, and I realised that she wasn't completely and utterly devouring him. She seemed to notice my confusion.

"It is no permanent curse that affects this one's body, she simply needs to learn how to control it." She explained with a slim smile. "And of course, there is one other thing." She turned to Vincent again, who was listening intently. "As you no doubt will have realised, it is once again approaching that time of year again." Vincent looked puzzled for a second, before suddenly figuring it out.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Don't worry about it, I'll get everyone to clear out the Rebirth for it."

"For what?" I asked, almost immediately wishing I hadn't.

"Wraith mating season." This sent some nasty mental images spiraling through my head. "Rebirth is the perfect spot for it, it yields better results, due to the spiritual energy in the air." She explained, before looking at my expression. "Don't worry, it's nothing like the way you humans do it. Much less physical."

"I guess you won't be joining in this year though." Vincent assumed.

"Yes, that is most unfortunate. However, we've already picked out a target, so the show must go on, as you humans say." I was just going to shut up, since I knew that asking any more questions would just reveal _way_ too much information.

"So, may I ask who you've picked?"

"We went through this one's emotions, and picked out that one over there." She pointed at Kuja, who looked like he'd just been put on the spot.

"Why am I getting the strange feeling that I will not like the sound of this." He replied, shaking his head.

"A perfect target, all the base emotions are already in this one's head, even some of those physical ones you humans have. It will be like, how do you say it, stealing babies from a candy shop?"

"Stealing candy from a baby." Neil corrected her. She looked at him.

"Thank you, sweetie. This whole language business takes a bit of getting used to."

"So what will this involve then?" Kuja asked, with the look of a man who just wanted to get it over with. Everyone in the room fell into an awkward silence.

"My, so naïve too. Tell me Kuja, what do you think normally happens in a mating season? Coffee drinking?" His face reddened slightly, a stark contrast to his normally pale complexion.

"Don't I get a say in this?" He replied, looking helpless.

"Not really, unless you want this one to suffer." She guessed from his expression that he had no idea what she was talking about. She sighed. "Her body will begin preparations for this event, and if it is not fulfilled then it will have nasty side-effects that only you humans tend to suffer from. Such things as high blood pressure, cardiac arrest, minor things like that."

"You call a cardiac arrest 'minor'?" Melissa questioned her.

"Yes, well, you get the painting."

"Picture." Neil once again corrected her.

"Picture then. If this season goes unsuccessfully for this one, then she may not survive the consequences." She paused. "And we happen to have taken a liking to this body, so we will be terribly angry if it dies."

"Try not to worry about it Kuja, I went through the exact same thing all those years ago." Vincent explained.

"You did what?" I was once again shocked.

"Ebony happened to be inhabiting a woman I had been interested in a long time ago. Turns out I was picked as a target, and as I said before, I will never forget that week."

"We wish the others could say that, you we're one of the few that survived it."

"What!" Kuja was disliking the idea more and more every second.

"They were, let us say...inadequate...for the task in hand." She looked at Joachim. "Quite frankly, we feel sorry for that one over there."

"Why?"

"He's about to undergo the same experience we are, with the same disastrous consequences if he fails. Fortunately, he seems to have a picked an understanding target." She looked at Eve, who reddened slightly. "Well, we suppose we'd better go and make preparations. Farewell for now, Vincent." She shuddered once again, and looked at the rest of us in confusion.

"Umm, could someone please tell me what just happened?" Samantha asked.

"Trust me, it may be better if you didn't know." Neil sniggered.

---

Samantha was a little confused. There was a five minute period of her life that had simply disappeared into thin air. No-one would even speak to her about it, especially not Kuja, who seemed to be rather nervous whenever she approached. However, every time she did approach, she got the sudden urge to pounce on him.

"_I don't suppose you have anything to do with this?" _She asked Ebony.

"_And what would make you think that?"_

"_Well, normally whenever I can't remember anything, it's usually because you happen to be having a bit of fun at the time. What have you said?"_

"_We may have let slip about a certain time of year us wraiths look forward to."_

"_Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?"_

"_You know, he said the exact same thing."_

"_Who did?"_

"_The one you call Kuja."_

"_What did you say to provoke that reaction?"_

"_Oh, We just told him that he was going to be engaging in rampant sex for the next week or so._

"_Oh right...wait a second...what did you just say?"_

"_We said we told him he would be engaging in rampant sex for the next week or so."_

"_You said WHAT!"_

"_How many times do we have to repeat it?"_

"_With who exactly?"_

"_With you...is everyone here this naïve?"_

"_And I don't get a say in what happens with my own body?"_

"_Not really. Besides, you must surely be feeling it getting ready?"_

"_It depends on what you describe as 'ready'. I haven't exactly been diving on him while removing my clothing!"_

"_Oh no, that comes later."_

"_Why did you even tell him that? What makes you think for a second I'm going to agree?"_

"_Because you know as well as we do that you've got those types of feelings for him. We share the same body, remember?" _Sam paused, she didn't really have an answer for that.

"_Well, you don't just say that you're going to...do those sort of things with him."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because you...you just don't!"_

"_Wouldn't it make more sense to prepare him for this?"_

"_Yes, but...no!"_

"_You're not making much sense."_

"_Look, have you ever heard of taking it slowly?"  
"No, we're still getting used to all your infernal sayings."_

"_It would make more sense, yes, but it's just not how you do it."_

"_Besides, at least he knows what's going to happen now."_

"_Yes, and that's why he's so darn nervous!"_

"_That's his problem, as long as it doesn't---"_

"_Don't even go there." _She thought for a second. _"Look, I'll think about it, alright? Just...not so quickly."_

"_I suppose one night wouldn't do too much harm. Just be careful though."_

"_Why?"_

"_You might start getting a little cranky, it'll happen every year." _Samantha sighed, trying to think straight through the random urges. How could she even think about doing this? She'd barely known Kuja a week, and now she was supposed to go and...she didn't even want to _think_ about it. She went into her room, flicked out the light, and jumped into bed, clenching her eyes shut to ignore everything her body was screaming at her to do.

---

I watched as Samantha shuddered a little and leapt into her room. The corridor we were standing in was deep within the central command structure of Zion, and seemed to be some sort of guest quarters. I waved down the corridor at Neil and Calum, who were also turning in for the night, and felt a sudden pang of guilt for Bruce. I couldn't even be sure if he was still alive, but I could only hope so. Mind you, in the company of Draco, it might be better if he was dead. Melissa gave me a quick hug.

"Something on your mind?" She asked.

"No, it's nothing." She gave me a look that suggested that she didn't believe me.

"I know that look, the '_I'm going to carry this on my shoulders_' look. Why can't you just for once tell me what's going on in that head of yours?" We sat on the bed, which was comfortably bouncy. The room was furnished in different shades of red, a tall bookcase stood in the corner, next to a window that showed off the beauty of Zion.

"Because most of the time, even I don't know what's going on in there." She nodded, closing her eyes.

"It's another dream, isn't it?" I faltered. I couldn't exactly deny that I had been seeing that terrible dream, the one that woke me up each night in a cold sweat. I couldn't bear to see a single ounce of pain in her eyes, yet I knew if this time stream went unchanged, I would do something terrible.

"Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?" I took a deep breath, and told her. I told her about seeing her sat by my bedside, I told her about me grabbing her by the neck, I told her how I stabbed her and left her dying on the floor. By the end of it, I couldn't even bear to talk. She looked a little shocked.

"It's exactly the same..." She whispered.

"What?"

"I've been having the same dream. I'm sat by the bedside, yet I don't know why. All I know is that something bad has happened to you, and then you get up, strangle me and then stab me with a scalpel, leaving me alone on the floor to my thoughts." This was quite shocking. Did she have the same pre-emptive abilities I had? If so, then did this mean that this vision was more likely to happen?

"I won't let it happen. No matter what I have to do, I will not let myself do such a thing." I told her, a fierce determination burning deep within my body.

"I know you won't, I trust you."She snuggled up and I gave her a little kiss, before flicking out the light and hoping to whatever gods there were that I would wake up with her still beside me.

---

Vincent stood on the roof of the command centre, looking out over the sleeping city beneath him. What was his brother's plans? What was he waiting for? Was he merely trying to psyche us out, or was there some deeper meaning behind this? He felt something move behind him, but wasn't worried.

"You didn't tell them then?" Rayth muttered.

"Tell them what?"

"You didn't tell them what else happened in that prophecy?" Vincent looked down.

"No. Let them enjoy these few weeks together. They deserve that much for what their about to go through."

"Any idea what's going on with Draco?"

"Not a clue. All I can guess is that this is the eye of the storm, and that whatever comes next is going to be twice as powerful and as destructive." He turned to look at his brother-in-law. "Do you still think the prophecy will be true?"

"If it is, then we are truly forsaken. This will be last of the Spiritseer rule of the Spiritual Realm."

"No. There's still hope. As long as they survive, there will still be hope..."

* * *

Oooh, mysterious ending! Yes, I do realise there's a bit of tension in the air, but it's all for a reason. I'm not just frustrated. XP 

As for you Kuja fangirls, don't get too angry. These people aren't real remember, there's still hope for you yet!

See ya later

Chris


	13. Chapter 12: Unexpected Developments

Disclaimer: Check out the previous disclaimers, and if you have any queries, contact me at the e-mail address in my bio, as it won't let me put it here.

A/N: Well, there's yet more rampant sex going on here too. I've tried to be as subtle as possible about the whole thing, but obviously there's some things you just can't get around! Forunately, this should be the last chapter with any full blown sexual references in it. The rest of the time, you can just pretend it's going on.

Also, mucho thanks to Mistress Manga and Gemelli, for such kind reviews . And as for not being as good MM? HA! I've read the KH fic of yours, and the description is exquisite! Just have confidence, and it'll turn out just fine!

**Warning: Sexual references in this chapter!

* * *

**

_**Chapter 12: Unexpected Developments

* * *

**_

The first thing Samantha realised as she slowly awoke is that she was no longer in her own bedroom. The next thing she realised, slightly to her surprise and horror, is that she was no longer wearing any clothes either. The third thing she realised, that she had already guessed by this point, is that she wasn't alone in this bed either. She yelped in surprise and fell out of the bed in a tangle of linen and quilts, landing on the floor with a soft thump.

"_What did I say? One night! Just one night! You can't even last that long!" _She shouted at Ebony, who was quietly giggling in the recesses of her mind.

"_Okay, so maybe we had a slight lack of will, but it's worked out alright hasn't it?" _Samantha looked up to see Kuja peering inquisitively over the edge of the bed, his expression filled with surprise.

"What are you doing down there?" He asked, filled with curiosity. She looked back up at him.

"And you didn't say no?" She asked, raising her eyebrow slightly.

"But...you said...okay, now I'm confused." He shook his head in confusion. "You mean to say that you didn't remember any of that?"

"No. I don't remember saying that you could do that either."

"But you did! You literally came into my room and dived on me! How can I say no to that?"

"Didn't you think for a second that it might not have been me?" He fell silent. "Anyway, no use crying over spilt milk now."

"_That's the spirit." _Ebony encouraged her.

"_Don't you think you've gotten away with this though."_

"_But surely you enjoyed it?"_

"_I can't remember it!"_

"_Well, we'll have to bring you up to speed then." _She then went on to describe exactly what had happened during the night, going into excruciating detail at some points. By the end of it, Samantha was beside herself in horror.

"_What happens now then?"_

"_That's entirely up to you. You already know what we're going to say." _She looked up at Kuja, who was now looking a crazy combination of confused, worried and scared. She went through her options. She had Kuja in a position that a lot of girls would either have nosebleeds just thinking about, or would kill to be in the same situation. She could continue down this route, possibly not leaving the room for the entire day, or she could storm out right now and think things through. Thinking things through had never been her style, so that left one option. She grabbed him by the arm dragging him off the bed and down onto the floor with her, giggling softly.

---

Melissa looked a little worried as I woke up, her expression made it look almost as if she had been waiting for something, but it had never arrived. She glanced at the clock on the bedside cabinet, which gave the time and date for both planets, the temperature, the humidity, and other bits of information, and frowned.

"Something wrong?" I asked, giving her a hug.

"No, it's nothing."

"Oh, and why does that sound familiar?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Really. There might be, but I'm not going to start jumping to conclusions just yet."

"Alright then." I stirred, really not wanting to get up. I wouldn't be too bothered if time just stopped right now and left us both in this place for the rest of eternity. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"Maybe later." She replied, giving me a weak smile. She was really worried about something, but I just couldn't fathom what. I decided to leave it, I trusted her enough to tell me if something was wrong. The sunlight seeping in through the window was illuminating the room in a soft glow, the air was dancing with the little particles of dust. I noticed a little mark on her neck, something that looked suspiciously like a tiny burn mark.

"What's that?" I asked.

"This? Oh, you must have gotten a little distracted."

"Pardon?"

"Every now and then you give me a little shock. Must be the black magic in your body." I thought about this for a second,before suddenly realising what she was talking about.

"Oh, sorry." I paused to think. "Any idea what you want to do today?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I don't know. I've got to nip off to the hospital later though." Now she was really starting to get me worried. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"I don't know, I'll probably go have a wander. Meet back here tonight?"

"Sure. I shouldn't be too long."

---

Every moment I spent wandering around the city of Zion was filled with awe. I had never seen a place so filled with life before. There were spirits everywhere, and because of the fact that the laws of gravity didn't apply to them anymore, there was no need to have smog-spouting vehicles ferrying everyone around. The sky was clouded with spirits flitting from place to place. They never needed to eat, never needed to drink, never needed to go out and buy things, never needed to work, it was truly a utopian paradise.

I found myself wandering towards a massive structure that was known as the Grand Library. It stored information on anything and everything that was known in the universe, the data banks within filled to bursting point with interesting facts. I found myself strolling towards the towering main entrance, and wandering inside.

Within, it was just as spectacular. There were thousands upon thousands of terminals where you could access the information within. Upon the roof were murals showing highly important looking figures talking to one another, or doing things that were supposed to symbolise something important. The walls were covered in pictures and paintings of beautiful looking places around both worlds, and I could faintly spot a picture of Dali up there, along with Alexandria and Esto Gaza.

I sat down at one of the terminals and started to browse through some of the items in the database.

_Spirit Council_

_The Spirit Council is a group of 12 high-ranking spirits who govern the Spiritseers and make all the important decisions. Founded by Lazarus Katar, it replaced the older Monarchy style of government, where one Spiritseer ruled supreme. The Council is lead by a High Seer, which is still selected using a monarchial system of succession._

One of the names in the article piqued my interest, so after a few more button taps, I brought up the according article.

_Lazarus Katar (Born 1242AD, Died 1284AD, Perished ?)_

_Lazarus was the man who founded the Spiritseers in the very beginning, laying down the foundations for Zion and the other great spirit cities. He was the first High Seer of the Spirit Council, and helped fight in the Wraith Host of 1345AD. However, he vanished without explanation in 1346AD during the Battle Of Kalmana. Rumour has it that he perished during the battle, but there has been no evidence supporting this._

The name had sounded incredibly familiar, yet I couldn't put my finger on where I had heard it before. I tapped a few more buttons, slowly learning more about my adopted nation.

_Draco Heald (Born 1776AD, Died , Perished ?)_

_Brother of Vincent Heald, Draco was single-handedly responsible for the Great War in 1805AD, and the creation of an army that destroyed all of the great cities barring Zion. His exact motives for doing this are still unknown, along with his inexplicable age and regenerative abilities._

_Great War, The (1805AD)_

_This war, started by Draco, was the single most destructive event in all of Spiritseer history. It is responsible for the deaths of over twenty-one million spiritseers, the destruction of Sanubia, Kalmana, Nirvana, Valhalla, Atlantis, Heaven and Mortalis, and the near-extinction of the entire Spiritseer race. The war ended when Draco was banished to Erebus, effectively rendering his armies helpless. It also holds the records for the most military losses in a single battle (Operation Rebirth) and the most civilians killed in a single attack (The destruction of Heaven). However, it has also been accredited with the rapid advancement in technology that accompanied the war._

It was at that point I remembered a name I wanted to look up, something that had been bothering me for a week now.

_Emma Falstar (Born 1778AD, Died 1806AD, Perished 1806AD)_

_Husband to Vincent Heald, Emma Falstar was inhabited by a Wraith lifeform in 1792AD known as "Ebony", and perished during the Great War (1805AD) at the hands of Draco. This is the event that is seen to have prompted a rapid end to the Great War. She had one brother (Rayth Falstar), and was wed to Vincent in 1793AD._

_Rayth Falstar (Born 1777AD, Died 1806AD, Perished ?)_

_Rayth was a soldier in the Reapers (Platoon Omega) and rapidly worked his way up the ranks to Commander, showing great skill in battle and general intelligence in the tactical workings of a battle. He was present in Operation Rebirth, where he had fought his way through countless enemies with his brother-in-law, High Seer Vincent Heald, and was reported to have died in the final battle with Draco. He is thoroughly grounded in long-range combat techniques, and prefers to use his rifle to solve problems in a single shot._

So that's who they are. How had Emma been speaking to me in my dreams though? Hadn't she ceased to exist over two centuries ago? I realised now what Vincent had been saying when he was talking to Kuja about Ebony; he'd married her. It was at that point I remembered that I hadn't seen Kuja all day, neither had I seen Samantha for that matter. I had to supress a laugh when I thought about what the poor guy was going through. I tapped a few more buttons.

"_Ebony"_

_Ebony is often accredited as the "Queen Of Wraiths", and has been the one link of contact that the Spiritseers have with the creatures known as Wraiths. She inhabited Emma Falstar in 1792AD and was known to have argued a temporary truce between the two races, due to the interest of survival. She is also accredited for pioneering the use of the Rebirth memorial for the annual Wraith mating season, although this is for reasons unknown._

"_And to think, she's currently in one of our team mates too. This is seeming more and more like the previous war everyday." _I heard Kirjava mutter, hopping around in my collar as a moth. I still couldn't get the thought of what the others were up to out of my head though. Eve and Joachim hadn't left their room all day either, which wasn't exactly surprising as Joachim was part-wraith too. I tapped in their names, curious to see what it came up with, but nothing turned up. Dejectedly, I stood up and decided to go along to the hospital to see what Melissa was up to, the sun lowering in the distance.

---

Samantha laid spreadeagled on the bed, panting softly. Ebony sure was enjoying herself today, it was hard to think how she was going to last through a full week of this. Kuja laid down next to her, looking a little tired.

"How many times did you---"

"I don't know, I lost count." She panted.

"_Seven times, and was on the verge of the eighth." _Ebony infomed her gleefully. She'd been right when she'd said that her body had been gearing up for this. She was about to turn to Kuja, when she realised he'd fallen asleep, completely exhausted. She grinned and grabbed the covers off the floor, pulling them over them and snuggling up next to him, falling asleep too.

---

The hospital wasn't too busy, the waiting room was half-full of spirits sat waiting patiently for their turn. It was pretty difficult for me to try and think of what kind of illness a spirit could be suffering from, but I left that thought and put it down as something to think about later. I wandered back and forth around the clinically white room, each surface I looked at seem to reflect light from everywhere else in the room, resulting in a bright white blur of light.

I went up to the desk to ask whether Melissa Andrews had booked in for anything, and sure enough, she was down the corridor with a doctor. I plonked myself down on a chair, and waited for someone to come out of the room in front of me. The corridor was done in much the same décor as the waiting room, with open windows leading out onto a beautiful garden, with a huge multitude of flowers and a large blossom tree in the centre, slowly dropping it's dying blossoms all over the rest of the flowers.

Suddenly, the door in front of me opened, and Melissa came bounding out, with a happy look on her face. I took that as a good sign, as she gave me a hug and we moved along the corridor, out of the way of a chatty nurse and doctor.

"So, any problems?"

"Nope, no problems at all!" She looked really excited about something, but at the same time slightly nervous.

"Are you going to finally tell me about it?" She gave me a sly look.

"Not yet, wait until tonight. First I want to go out and have a look at Rebirth again."

"Why? Won't the entire area be off-limits at the moment?" I didn't need reminding that there were a hell of a lot of wraiths down there.

"I'm sure they'll let us have a look. C'mon, pleeease?"

"Oh alright then."

---

Rebirth still looked absolutely stunning, with thin wispy trails of spiritual essence rising slowly into the air, illuminating everything with a soft glow. I could faintly see soft figures moving around in the glow from the fields, moving around each other, almost in some kind of dance.

"It's so beautiful..." Melissa whispered. I had to agree though, it was a pretty breathtaking sight. We kissed and sat on the hillside overlooking the fields for what felt like forever.

Eventually, we headed back to the guest rooms, and I was surprised to see Neil and Calum with their ears against Kuja's door.

"What the heck are you two up to?" I asked, and they jumped nervously.

"I think he's killed her." Neil muttered.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, she's been screaming for the past twenty minutes, and now everything's gone silent. Either that, or they were having a hell of a lot of fun. Speaking of which, has anyone seen Eve and Joachim today?" I shook my head. "Well if they're in there, they're a hell of a lot quieter than those two."

"So, you two have been hanging around listening to screams of carnal desire all evening?"

"Ah no, I went out and had a look at the airport." Calum answered, leaning against the wall.

"And I went to look at the barracks over to the east. Speaking of which, where've you two been?"

"Never you mind." Melissa grinned. Neil rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, like I really need to know what you two get up to when there's no-one else around."

"Well, if you really must know---"

"Okay, I'll be going now!" Neil ran off down the corridor. Calum shrugged and headed back to his room.

"Hehe, works every time." We headed into our room, and I sat down on the bed, watching her as she got undressed, her splendid curves outlined in the moonlight, and climbed in. "Going to tell me then?" She nodded and sat up.

"Well, I'm still not entirely sure, but---"

"If you're not sure, you don't have to tell me." She smiled.

"Okay, give me until the end of the week. The doctor says I'll probably know myself then." I climbed in, and gave her a little kiss.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure whatever it is, it can't be that serious."

---

The week drifted by, each day melding into the next, as though the entire week was just one massive day. I couldn't even be sure where one day began and the other one ended. There'd been barely any sounds of life coming from within Eve and Joachim's room, apart from one of them emerging every now and nip out for something. Even then they weren't out for long, soon retiring back to the room.

Kuja's room at the beginning of the week had been...well, noisy to say the least. However, they seemed to have calmed down a bit now, only emitting the slightest peeps every now and then. Either that, or they were so exhausted after the first few days that they'd simply slept since then.

Meanwhile, I had been back to the library a few times, checking out tidbits of information about anything I had heard about that day. I nipped back to the hospital with Melissa a few times, waiting patiently outside the room for her to emerge. Each day she was looking happier and happier, which was an incredible relief.

Finally, we were sat on the bed on the Sunday night, arms around each other, looking out of the window at Zion as the moon rose straight in front of us.

"I think I finally know what's going on now." She whispered.

"Go on then." I urged her on.

"Well...I want you to guess." She smiled, and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright then. Is it something to do with your body?" She nodded. I looked at her, taking in every inch of her, then decided to work from the bottom up. I sat down on the floor and removed her shoes and socks, smiling when she wiggled her toes at me. "There's something catastrophically wrong with your left foot." I commented.

"Nope."

"Right foot?"

"Guess again." I slid my hands up her silky legs, feeling for anything out of place.

"Hmm, have you broken your left leg?"

"Nah. I think you'd have noticed by now if I had."

"There's nothing wrong with your right leg either?"

"Nope." She grinned as I moved my hand further up her legs.

"Hmm, have you bruised your thigh?"

"Certainly not." I moved up further, and she giggled. "No, both you and I know there's nothing wrong there."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." I continued, my hands resting on her tummy. "Stomach ache?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Getting warmer though." I thought for a second, what could be so wrong with her abdomen area that she's had to visit the hospital several times in the week?

"I give up. What's up?" She leant forwards and whispered into my ear.

My brain dropped out of the back of my head, my entire body froze up, before being filled with an incredible warmth. I felt over a million emotions flood through my mind at once, before collapsing onto the soft carpet and throwing my fists up into the air, cheering with sheer joy. When I got up again, she was biting her lip, her eyes dark with worry. "What's the matter?" I said, hugging her.

"You're not mad are you?" She asked. I laughed.

"How in the name of all that is holy could I possibly be mad? I'm going to be a father! It's the happiest moment of my life!"

"I just thought..." I shut her up with a kiss.

"Just relax. It takes two to tango, remember? Even if I was mad, how could I possibly blame this on you?"

"I know it sounds silly, but it's just...we're in the middle of a war. What kind of world is this child going to be born into?"

"A brave new one, if I have anything to do with it. Even if I have to stride out there by myself and beat the crap outta Draco right now." I gently rubbed her tummy, and kissed her again. "Just relax. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to either of you."

---

As I lay wide awake that night, locked in an embrace with the woman I loved, some of those words came back to haunt me. How could I stop anything bad happening to her, especially when I'd quite clearly seen myself stabbing her? How could I guarantee that our child wasn't going to grow up in a warzone? Suddenly, her body shook and she screamed, panting loudly with fear. I shushed her, stroking her matted hair gently until she drifted back off to sleep.

"It's that dream again." She whispered, moist in a cold sweat. I nodded.

"Don't worry, that's all it is; a dream. It can't hurt you." I felt her breathing deepen, and her heart beat slow, as she slowly drifted back to sleep. What was I going to do? What _could _I do? Even now, I could hear Draco laughing in the back of my thoughts, just waiting for a chance to strike. It was almost too much to bear. I knew that if our child was to have any chance of survival, let alone a happy future, I'd have to do something to stop Draco, before it was too late. I drifted off into a restless and haunted sleep, praying that I would not do something terrible.

---

Chris wasn't the only one laying wide awake that night. Samantha lay next to Kuja, who was sleeping quietly, his chest softly rising and falling. She stared at the ceiling, worried about what could be going on inside her body now. With the sheer amount of love that had been shared in that room over the past week, it would be a miracle for her _not_ to have come off with something a little more.

"_He hasn't been that bad, you know. Much better than many of the others."_

"_Ebony, is there anyway I could know if anything has happened during this week?"_

"_What do you mean by that? You're worried about being pregnant?"_

"_Yeah, kind of."_

"_There is a purpose behind a mating season. It would be a bit naïve of you to think that nothing is currently happening in your womb."_

"_Is anything happening?"_

"_Oh yes. You'll be feeling it quite soon." _She paused. _"It's going to turn out perfect, you'll see."_

"_How the heck am I going to tell Kuja?"_

"_We could, if you would prefer it."_

"_Somehow I think that would involve shouting it at him, which would not be the best course of action at the moment."_

"_Well, you are carrying his son."_

"_Wait a second, how did you know it's going to be a boy?"_

"_We wraiths are much more attuned to spiritual essences than you humans are. I suspect that the spiritseer across the corridor will realise your situation long before the genome does."_

"_Which spiritseer? There are two, remember?"_

"_Both of them, although the female will already know how you are feeling." _It took a few seconds to register in Samantha's head what this meant.

"_...Melissa's pregnant too?"_

"_Yes, although we reckon that she's already used an artificial method of discovering this. That girl is going to turn out beautiful." _That made sense, as she had faintly heard the sound of someone cheering across the corridor, she guessed that had been her breaking the news.

"_She's got a girl then? What about Eve and Joachim? Anything going on there?"_

"_We highly doubt that. The girl has had her reproductive organs removed. She will never produce any children."_

"_Wait a minute, by removed, I assume you don't mean she's had an operation."_

"_No, the organs have been entirely removed. Strange that, it seems as though it was done not long after her birth. Also, there is something about those two. Their essences feel so...familar."_

"_Someone you know?"_

"_Possibly."_

Samantha moved onto her side, stroking her tummy gently. If there was something going on in there, how was she going to tell the man lying next to her? She got the feeling he'd freak out if he knew he was going to be a father, either that or drop dead of shock. She could just not tell him, but he would be suspicious. Besides, she wanted him to know. She wanted him to know that in nine months time she would be going through Hell and back to provide them with a son. She wanted him to know exactly how she felt about this. She wanted him to know how much she loved him. She felt awfully guilty about the past week, he'd seemed so innocent about the whole thing. Now he was going to be a father, and all so quickly too. She snuggled up to him, and slowly closed her eyes, drifting off into a silent sleep.

---

Vincent sat in his chambers, reading through an old document, concerning the location of an ancient laboratory on Gaia. He read with vague interest, and sighed. This small action was ultimately pointless, since he didn't need to breathe in the first place, but it was more the emotional reasons behind it than the physical.

He couldn't help but think that his existance was coming to a close. He could see it coming, like a train going down a dark tunnel, the light just ahead and growing larger. He had seen the prophecy that concerned the six individuals sleeping the guest quarters. He knew what was going to happen soon, yet felt powerless against it, much like a pebble feels in front of a tidal wave.

He sighed once again, tomorrow he would have to tell them the next step in the chain of events, and he didn't like it one bit. He knew what enemy they would face in that ancient place, and he knew the consequences of this battle. He looked out of the window, at the faint beam of light, and the gigantic dark tower that stood beside it, stretching into the heavens.

Rapture. The elevator that leads up to Halo. It had stood there as a testament to the technology that the seers had come up with, and he knew it would not be standing much longer, along with the rest of this great city. He could only hope that the prophecy was somehow wrong, that this wasn't the way things were going to go. If it was, then there were only two people in the guest quarters that would survive, and they would be left to pick up the pieces.

* * *

That should do for now. How will Samantha tell Kuja about the spirit growing within? How can Chris stop himself from harming Melissa? What's the story with Eve and Joachim? What's happened with Draco? Why do I love cliffhangers so much? Find out next time!

I bid you adieu.

Chris


	14. Chapter 13: Brothers In Arms

Disclaimer: Check out the previous disclaimers, and if you have any queries, contact me at the e-mail address in my bio, as it won't let me put it here.

A/N: This chapter is the biggest one I have written to date, measuring in at a whopping (for me anyway) 5600 words. That's seven pages of size 10. And to think, back when I first started out writing, the average chapter size was 1000 words! Now it's risen to about 4000! Obviously, this means that there are going to be less chapters in this installment, but even now, it's actually exceeding the previous fic in size!

Anywho, time to get on with the show!

* * *

_**Chapter 13: Brothers In Arms**_

_I stood in front of a blinding light, in a room that seemed quite technologically advanced, gleaming metal reflecting the luminance from the centre of the chamber. I looked at it, and it slowly came into focus. It was a small glowing orb, giving out such a feeling of life and light. My soul felt blessed in it's presence._

_It was then I realised what the dark object on the floor in front of me was. It was Melissa, quite obviously dead. She looked so peaceful and pale in death, completely motionless, a thin trickle of dark red blood running slowly from her lips and down the side of her face, such a stark contrast to the pale white of her skin. Her usually beautiful raven hair was matted with blood, strewn across the floor like a massive splatter mark. Her black top was torn across her chest, revealing a massive slash wound that slowly leaked her life fluids, and seeped a fine mist that was barely visible in the light. Beside her lay her butterfly blades, one had completely cracked in half and lay broken like her body. _

_I looked at what I was holding in my hand, and saw that it was a long thin sword, dripping with deep crimson blood. It was well crafted, and incredibly light. When it moved, it seemed to cut the very air around it, leaving a thin gap, like a thin wound in the very fabric of the universe._

"_It's time to end this." I heard a voice deep within my mind. It sounded so familiar, and yet it didn't sound the same way I would expect it to. I felt my hand move, lifting the fragile-looking blade above my head, ready to let it fall on the wondrous orb in front of me. I felt a horrible disgust at what I was doing. It was blatantly obvious that I was the one who had just killed the woman I loved, holding the murder weapon in my hands, still dripping with her blood. I remember something I had said while lying on the bridge back in London, a single sentence that had stuck in my mind since that day._

"_I can't live without you..." I repeated it, looking down in incredible grief upon Melissa's body._

"_What?" I heard the voice again, this time it sounded desperate, as if it had just realised what I was about to do. I shifted my grip slightly on the hilt, and with a deep breath I rammed it downwards into my stomach. An incredible pain filled my body, setting every nerve on fire and stabbing them with needles. I left it there for a few seconds, before slowly and agonisingly pulling it out, and then discarding it carelessly._

"_If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me..." I muttered at the voice in my head, falling forwards next to Melissa, giving her cold cheek one last kiss before descending into death._

---

I slowly opened my eyes, and realised what I had just seen had been yet another dream. Once again, it was a dream I did not want to repeat. The sunrise was beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as the woman beside me, her chest rising and falling softly against mine. I'd never felt so alive, never felt so bonded with one person. I felt as though the word "love" was merely a shadow of the feelings I felt for her, and no word that had been invented by any race could possibly describe the bond between us. Her face was so peaceful, a slight smile crossed her face as she stirred gently. She slowly awakened, her stunning emerald eyes flickering open, gazing sleepily at mine.

"I don't wanna get up." She whispered. I wholeheartedly agreed, and we laid there for what felt like an eternity, gazing at each other, picking out every little detail on each other. I rubbed her tummy gently, wondering what was going on in there, feeling the gentle warmth her body emitted.

"Well, we're going to have to get up some time." I tapped my fingers along her side to an old tune that I hadn't heard in ages. If that song had been playing, we wouldn't have just been lying there either. She closed her eyes, sighing deeply.

"Don't stop." She whispered, so I continued tapping along gently. We laid like this for another while, basking in each other's warmth.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. We both nearly jumped out of our skins in shock, Melissa slipping off the side of the bed in a tangle of bedcovers. Unfortunately, I happened to be comfortably wrapped in these covers, so I went tumbling after her. After much fumbling, I realised that somehow she had ended up on top of me, gazing down at me with a grin on her face.

"Well this is nice." I whispered, and she giggled softly, before leaning down and kissing me. We kissed again, and again, until we simply lost count, or stopped counting. Also, it seemed that the person at the door had lost patience, and had slipped a small card under the door.

About half an hour later, we decided to get up properly, this time without falling over each other. I slipped on a shirt that had been tossed lazily over the chair in the corner of the room, and put on some pants, taking a look at the card that had been slipped under the door. The handwriting on the card was pretty neat, written in black ink, it simply said:

_Meet at the control room at 10:00am. Vincent._

I looked at the clock on the bedside table, and noticed it said 9:02am. It took roughly ten minutes to get down to the control room, so that gave us another forty-eight minutes of spare time. However, judging by the fact that Melissa was now grabbing my arm and pulling me back towards the bed, it would be apparent how I would be spending that spare time.

---

Finally, after much fiddling and fumbling, we left the room, fully clothed. I decided to wear my cloak again, letting it loosely trail around my ankles. It was a beautiful silky fabric, coloured deep navy blue, strong yet light at the same time. Melissa had taken the time to do her hair a little, the silky folds now falling loosely over her shoulders, which she had revealed by wearing a shoulderless black top. I couldn't stop looking at her for a single second. I felt that if I looked away, she would be robbed from me before I had a chance to react.

I saw Neil coming down the corridor, dressed in a loose-fitting white shirt and navy blue jeans. I also noticed that he was now wearing a simple black bandana that covered his hair, except for a few stray hairs that fell into a fringe. Soon after was Calum, who was still wearing his black and red armour, and hefting his naginata over his shoulder, followed soon after.

Then came Eve, who was wearing her familiar thin black blouse, with a long black dress that wound it's way down to her ankles. Her hair was pulled back into a long-ish ponytail that seemed to glitter in the light. Striding beside her was Joachim, who was wearing his deep black longcoat, complete with two loose holsters hanging on the back, cradling the two handguns he always carried around. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt beneath, and deep black combat trousers beneath the hanging cloak, his lithe silver-ish tail swaying from side to side as he strode along. His silver hair was a little ruffled, further emphisising the unkempt curls of his hair. Kuja and Samantha soon followed, arm in arm. Kuja was wearing his usual attire of white and light-purple silky sleeves and pants, while Sam was wearing a simplistic purple top, and was also wearing fading blue jeans. We all met and started to walk along the corridor, engaging in conversations seemingly at random. Melissa towards the back with a worried-looking Samantha. It was at further inspection that I noticed something odd about her spiritual essence. While it was still a blue-ish purple, because of Ebony, there was also a slight tint of reddish-pink hovering around her midsection. I turned to Kuja, who still looked a little tired.

"Had a nice week?" I asked, and he just turned to me and looked helplessly. "I take that as a yes?"

"Am I still alive?"

"Yes."

"Then it was a good week." He looked down. "I am a little worried though. There's something...different about Samantha."

"What? You mean apart from the sex-mad demon that's taken up home inside of her?"

"No, I meant that something feels different about her."

"Oh I noticed that. Her aura's a little wonky at the moment, so..." I stopped speaking, suddenly realising as I looked at Melissa. There was also a slightly different shade of blue around her midsection, so slight I had barely noticed. It was then I realised exactly what was going on, and bit my lip. "...it might be a good idea to ask her some time." I finished. I figured it wouldn't be a good idea that if I broke the news, it would be much better if he'd heard it from her. Melissa was busy chatting with her, but she looked up from the conversation and saw where I was looking, giving a slight nod of confirmation, before returning to the chat. I decided to chat to Eve for a minute, as we slowly approached the control room ahead.

"Don't even bother asking." She muttered. "I'm too tired."

"That bad?" She gave me a look of contempt, before looking apologetic.

"Sorry, I'm just a little moody at the moment. He isn't exactly what you'd call gentle." I thought about that for a second, before shelving it in my mind under "Don't touch...ever."

"Nice mental images there."

"He couldn't stop laughing at some points due to what was happening next door." She looked at me in curiosity, my mind screaming at me that she was so familiar. "What were you cheering about last night?" I explained, and she smiled warmly. "Congratulations. I'm sure things will work out just fine." She tapped Joachim on the shoulder and started chatting to him. I moved to Neil, who seemed to be in his own world.

"Oh, hi." He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"So, you like Zion then?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice place. Pretty peaceful too."

"Well, it is the city of the dead."

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't like to attack it though, not after looking at the barracks. Those guys are just awesome." He muttered. "What have you been up to then." He looked at Melissa. "...I don't want all the gory details."

"Just relaxing mostly. I'm still getting used to the fact I'm going to be a father." He jumped in shock.

"Bloody hell! You kept that one under wraps!" He replied. "That would explain the cheering. I thought that had been something else."

"No, we're usually a lot quieter than that."

"Too much information." He shuddered. "Anyway, congrats mate." He moved on. Calum was looking at me, shaking his head.

"It'll all end in tears, I know it." He muttered. I looked at him curiously.

"What makes you think that?" He shrugged.

"These things usually do." With that, he carried on, and I strolled alongside Sam and Melissa.

"I take it you already know." Melissa looked at me in a concerned manner.

"Well, I could guess from the fact that you have some of Kuja's spirit floating around in the place where your womb should be, and the fact you've spent the last week engaged in certain activities best not described here, then I would guess that you're pregnant...right?"

"That's what Ebony tells me." She looked down in worry, before looking at the genome up front. "How can I tell him?"

"Just go for it. That's what I did, and it worked out alright, didn't it?" Melissa put an arm around my waist, and I nodded.

"I doubt he'll freak out or anything. Just pick a good time and tell it to him straight." She nodded. "Something I did five years ago seems to have let emotions out of a little box in his mind. You're the first person he's ever been like this with."

"Really?"

"Yeah. No matter what Zidane suggested, he just wouldn't go anywhere near a member of the opposite gender. As soon as he met you, everything changed. Looks like you hit a soft spot with him."

"Hehe, okay then." She grinned.

We reached the control room five minutes early, only to hear something burst into the room, prompting shock from the technicians and other personnel hanging around. I felt the click of several rifles in the complex array of displays and control panels, as several black armoured soldiers trained their rifles on the man who had just flung himself at the doors. I noticed that several of these guards were shaking nervously, uncomfortable at the sight before them, possibly even scared. Then I realised who it was that had entered the room so loudly.

It was Draco.

He was covered in blood, most of it seemed to be his own. He was shuddering from the visible strain of the wounds, leaning against a panel for support. No-one in the room was exactly rushing forwards to help him. Suddenly, Vincent strode into the room, and Draco looked up at him, a confused look on his face.

"H...el...p" He tried to say, before falling to the floor, shaking from the amount of blood he had lost. I pitied him. Sure, he was our enemy, but he looked so helpless. Risking life and limb, I went down and knelt by his side, helping him to lean his back against the wall. He coughed, a little more blood running down his chin.

"What happened?"

"Wh...where am I? Why can't I see?" He murmured, his head lolling.

"Draco, what's happened?" Vincent repeated my question, and for a moment, Draco's face looked at his brother's in shock.

"Vincent? I couldn't...I wasn't strong enough..."

"What are you talking about?"

"His will...it was...too strong..." He coughed again.

"You were possessed?"

"I couldn't stop myself...he knows Vincent. He knows everything."

"What does he know!"

"He knows where the great destroyer is. I tried to stop him, but I wasn't strong enough."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Lazarus... He's gone mad...he says that we're trying to destroy the universe...he's going to try and destroy the Light...cause a re-alignment...I couldn't stop him."

"Lazarus Katar? That isn't good..." Draco's face cleared, staring directly into his brother's.

"I'm...sorry about...Emma...I couldn't fight him..."

"Save your strength." He turned around and called for a medic.

"I...wasn't...strong...enough...please...forgive...me...brother..." With that, he shuddered and fell still, his eyes glazing over. Vincent was completely still, and I swore I could see a tear in his eye. He swept his hand over Draco's dead eyes, closing them for the last time.

"Rest in peace...brother..."

--

The small glass-walled room at the head of the control room was completely silent. No-one knew how to react. The person we had seen as our enemy had just died apologetically on the floor in front of us. His spirit had been too weak, and he'd perished instantly after dying. Vincent's face bore an incredible grief. Now he knew that his brother had not been responsible for his actions, he felt intolerably guilty for hating him all these years. It must have been terrible, trapped in his own head, watching helplessly as the person who controlled him destroyed everything he'd held dear. It was at that moment I realised that I already knew what this felt like. Hadn't I struck out at innocent people at the hands of the man who had possessed me? Obviously, Draco had to put up with it for over two hundred years, I'd only experienced it for about two minutes.

The main question that hovered around in my mind though was that if Draco was now dead, who was this Lazarus now possessing? It wasn't me, as I couldn't detect the usual wash of shadow in my thoughts, and I wasn't trying to massacre everyone in the room, so who could it be?

"So what now?" Neil broke the silence. Rayth decided to take over from his grief-stricken brother-in-law, stepping forwards and pointing at a place on the map of Gaia in front of us.

"The great destroyer Draco spoke about is a weapon called the Nilith, it was designed to be able to cut through _anything_. It's the only thing capable of destroying a crystal. It was used in the previous war to destroy all of the other seven crystals, which means that the Light Crystal is the only one left." I recalled the orb in my dream, which I could only assume was the Light Crystal, and I could only assume that the bloody sword I had held in my hand was the Nilith.

"So, we've got to stop him from getting his hands on this?" Samantha asked.

"Basically, yes. The weapon was hidden in an ancient laboratory that we used for experimental weapons research, hidden deep under this extinct volcano." He pointed at the map again. I recognised that area as Mount Gulug, which brought back certain memories with a jolt. I remembered a cavern, lit brightly with electronic lights, with a heavy-looking hatch in the middle. "However, the scientists perished many years ago. Apparently, they'd left something behind, but we don't know what."

"Could that something be deadly?" Calum looked on in mild concern.

"Probably not, although the lab will have had a lot of security measures around it. You'll have to be wary."

"So you lot designed a weapon that could end the world, and you decided it would be a good idea to _keep_ it?" Neil questioned Rayth. He shook his head.

"We didn't design it, and it can't be destroyed. We decided to keep it in a place as far away as possible from Zion, and with as much defense as we could muster. What better place than an _experimental_ weapons lab?"

"Who did design it then?"

"We don't know, although I've got a sneaking suspicion that it was one of Draco's underlings."

"Lazarus's" Vincent corrected him, speaking for the first time in ages. "Draco was innocent in all of this." He closed his eyes. "What I can't understand is why Lazarus would do this."

"Who is this Lazarus guy then?" Melissa asked.

"He practically founded the Spiritseer empire, he drew up the blueprints for the eight spirit cities, and he created the Spirit Council. He perished in a battle with Wraiths hundreds of years ago."

"No he didn't." I heard the sinister voice of Ebony coming from Samantha's throat. "We were there. We had launched an attack on Kalmana, and he stood against us. We never killed him, but he just vanished all of a sudden."

"Well even if he didn't die, then why would he be so keen to destroy all he created?" Melissa pointed out.

"I've no idea. This is getting out of hand." Vincent shook his head. Rayth carried on.

"Anyway. You have to get to this lab and prevent the Nilith from falling into the enemy's hands." He paused. "Otherwise, we're all well and truly screwed."

---

I shivered as we jumped off the Thunderchild, landing in heavy snow. Once everyone had vacated the vehicle, I turned around to watch as it shot off into the sky, kicking a hole in the clouds it flew through. The landscape around us was a blinding white in the sunshine, and it looked like the almost constant blizzards that plagued this area had decided to stop for the moment, leaving us with time to think about the task ahead of us.

Before long, we had reached the long tunnel that led to the cavern in which we sought our target. I reached down to the hatch, and with the help of the others, slowly pulled it back, complemented with a loud creaking sound. There was a sudden whoosh of stale air, as if this place had not been seen in years, and it smelt vaguely of some sort of clinical cleaner. Joachim decided to go first, seeming we had no idea whether there would be some sort of defense mechanism down there, it was rather brave of him.

Once we had all climbed down, I heard a voice echo over some sort of intercom, and light filled the room we were standing in.

"_Hello there! If you lot are listening to this, it probably means we're dead. Oh well, it was good while it lasted."_

"What the hell?" Neil muttered.

"_Yes, you may well think that. I can see why you would be so surprised. Anyway, follow the lines on the floor, they'll lead you on." _We saw strips of light along the heavy metal floor, lighting some sort of path along the room. Somehow this place reminded me of the hospital back in Zion, the familiar smell of disinfectant and cleaner readily apparent. Once we had moved on, the voice perked up.

"_Ah, now you're in the reception area. If you follow the lights, you'll get to something rather special." _His voice was cheery, like an advertisement on the television.

"This is freaking me out." Melissa whispered.

"_No need to be so afraid Melissa, you'll soon figure out what this is all about."_ I was gobsmacked.

"How did you know her name?" I asked, before remembering that this was a recording, so it didn't matter.

"_Believe me, you'll soon find out."_ It was a little freaky having a full-blown conversation with a recording, but we moved onwards, before emerging into what seemed to be some sort of testing area. On the wall across the room were mounted some weapons, and I was surprised to see that there was a weapon for every one of us in the group.

"_You'll find some weapons on the wall over there. Don't worry, just try them out. We designed them to fit your fighting styles perfectly."_

"How do you know all this?" Neil asked, while picking out a machete-style short sword. It's blade was a deep green emerald, and there was a bright red lick of flame running right up the middle of it.

"_I suppose you deserve an explanation. We don't just develop weapons here, we also investigate the foresight abilities in certain people. We have developed a machine that allows us to navigate the time streams ahead and see what is going to happen in the future. Pretty nifty, eh? We've seen all this happen, so even if you decided to say something completely and utterly random, I'd still know what you were about to say."_

"Quazarks!" Neil shouted, at the exact same time as the cheery voice said it. "Whoa."

"_Like I said, pretty nifty. Anyway, because of all this temporal malarkey, we've analysed how you all fight in battle, and we designed you some new weapons based on that data. Try em out if you like." _I picked up a small light dagger. It's blade was deep blue, and almost seemed to glow in the dim light of the training room, as I moved it from left to right it seemed to leave a trail in the air behind it. I turned to see everyone checking out their new weapons. The katana Samantha was holding looked positively lethal, and she was swinging it around expertly as though she'd been using it all her life. It's blade was a deep purple that seemed to go in a gradient, from light purple at the top of the blade, to a deep black towards the hilt. Eve was toying with some sort of weapon that stuck to her arm, and pointed it at a target on the far wall. It fired a lance of purple light that collided with the target and blew the top part of it clean off, leaving just the legs behind. On the wall, there were two handguns for Joachim, but he only took one, replacing one of his deep black weapons with a newer-looking silver one. Melissa was sporting two new butterfly blades, one a deep blue, while the other was a lightish orange. She swung them around, testing out their weights and slimness, smiling thoughtfully at the results.

"_Anyway, I assume you've all come for the Nilith?" _The voice asked, before there was a short sound of confusion. _"Why am I asking? I already know the answer!" _There was a massive door on the other side of the room, that seemed to be held back with several hundred thick metal pins. These slowly slid aside, and the door swung open, like the doorway to a tomb, and revealed the prize within.

The Nilith was exactly how I had seen it, minus the blood of course. It's hilt was an expensive looking gold, and the blade itself was so thin, it looked like it would snap any second. It was suspended in a single beam of light, and we moved towards it, only to see that there was someone else in the room.

He was partly hidden in shadow, but from what we could see of the black armour, he looked frighteningly familiar.

"I was wondering when you were going to turn up." A familiar voice drawled. The man stepped forwards, and I was shocked to see someone I really wasn't expecting to see.

"Bruce! You're alive!" I shouted. He grinned darkly, and I was horrified to see that there was something subtly different about him. His aura seemed a lot darker than normal, flickering deep shades of black, red and grey. Right down his face from his forehead to his upper lip was a thin slice, which seemed to completely change his face.

"Yes I am. Pity you won't be for much longer." I noticed that he had his deep black obsidian blade out. Neil stepped forward, taking the Nilith off it's stand and passing it to me.

"You go and get this to a safe place, I'll handle him." What in the hell was going on? Why was Bruce threatening us like this?

"You humans, you think that your reign in this universe is absolute, yet it isn't. Your reign is slowly killing this universe, using up it's precious energy, disrupting the flow of souls with your 'life prolonging treatment'. It's against the natural order of things." He started pacing. "Soon, there'll be such an inbalance that she will be unable to cope, and will just collapse. There will no more life, no more death, just nothingness." He snorted in derision. "Necron would be happy." He continued pacing across the room, and my hand twitched, flicking Nilith slightly. "Why can't you just accept that the universe must be re-aligned, to cure itself of the wounds your pathetic kind has bestowed upon it? Why do you continue to cling to life like a small child clings to it's mother. Everything returns to nothing, and then is used to create new life. It's time you allowed the natural flow of life and death to continue." Everyone was utterly silent. Neil, being the kind of guy he is, just had to break the silence somehow.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" He shouted. "Have you gone nuts?"

"No, it's your kind that are crazy. I'm here to settle the sides!" His blade was scraping along the floor menacingly as he paced back and forth. "You'll give me Nilith, and you will allow the universe to heal."

"Over my dead body." Neil growled.

"So be it." Bruce (or Lazarus, I didn't know what to think anymore) charged forwards, blade raised. Neil blocked his first attack, being knocked off balance with the sheer momentum of the blow.

"Go! I'll sort this out!" He shouted at us. I felt unable to leave him, but I knew Neil enough to know that when he wanted to go alone, nothing could change his mind. I nodded and turned to the others, listening numbly to the clangs and grinding behind me.

"C'mon, we need to get this back to Zion." I held up Nilith, and we moved out reluctantly, leaving the two of them to fight it out.

Neil blocked each of Lazarus's blows, occasionally striking back rapidly, but his counters weren't penetrating the thick armour that the enemy was wearing. He dived backwards, sliding along the floor to escape a downward swing of the massive claymore, while charging up a Holy spell to fire back at him, a bright lance of light erupting from his hand, blowing Lazarus onto his back, like a turtle. When he stood back up, his body began to be engulfed in a shining glow, and Neil realised to his horror that Bruce's body was going into Trance. The black armour that he was wearing became horribly scaly, huge black leathery wings unfurled from his back, stretching out to full length.

Neil knew that his only chance of survival lay in the change about to come over his body, as he too felt himself undergoing the Trance transformation, his eyes began to glow a bright green, his clothing was replaced by a long pure white robe that enshrouded his entire body, the blade in his hand glowing a deep emerald. Lazarus struck out at top speed, but Neil was faster, casting a Haste spell over himself and nimbly dodging the sword blow aimed at him. However, the upswing caught him by surprise, cutting a deep gash right along his arm. He gritted his teeth, clutching at the wound, beginning the heal it, while desperately trying to dodge each blow being thrown at him. He swung his blade back, catching him across the face, drawing out a splatter of crimson. Blood was now running freely down Lazarus's face, and he responded by raising his sword into the air, allowing it to absorb all the energy in the area, before lowering it and unleashing it at Neil's body. With his quick thinking, Neil cast a quick reflect spell, but that wasn't strong enough to entirely deflect the blast, the massive amounts of energy firing off at every angle and hitting every surface with a blinding explosion.

When the dust settled, Neil was lying on the floor, his back propped up against the charred wall. There was a thin sliver of blood winding it's way down his face, and his head was lolling slightly. Lazarus (or Bruce, depending on which way you look at it) was still standing in the middle of the room, the blood from the cut in his face dripping slowly onto the floor with a steady patter. In fact, that was the only sound in the room.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Lazarus advanced on Neil's broken body, relishing every moment of his opponent's defeat. The next moment, he was hit by the biggest Holy spell Neil had ever cast. The resulting explosion threw Lazarus against the wall, breaking every bone in Bruce's body. Neil rose to his feet. It seemed the ploy had worked. He leant down next to the prone body, and felt for a pulse.

There wasn't one.

Slowly, his body transformed back into it's normal self. Sure, he felt a little bad for Bruce's death, but he knew that nothing could have saved him. He held a moment's silence, and then left, leaving the corpse on the floor to it's eternal rest.

---

Meanwhile, we had just reached the outside of the volcano. The snow was slowly starting to fall once again, drifting down gently. I'd heard a massive explosion from inside the once-silent volcano, and hoped that Neil was alright, and hadn't just been blown into bloody chunks.

Suddenly, my head burst into an incredible agony, all of my nerves in my body were set alight in pain. I felt my body convulsing uncontrollably, and the last sight I saw before falling unconscious was Melissa's terrified face looking in horror as I fell to the freezing cold ground and into darkness.

* * *

It's getting towards the end now folks, I'm afraid. There's not so much left in this fic to cover, and then it's onto the final part of the trilogy! I'll update soon, I'm actually suffering from a writing addiction at the moment, so an update should be along in no time at all.

Adios

Chris


	15. Chapter 14: 'Til Death We Do Part

Disclaimer: Check out the previous chapters, and if you have any queries, then e-mail me at my address in my profile bio thingy.

A/N: Whoa, thanks for the reviews peeps!  
Reiko, your reviews are awesomely funny, that one definitely brought a smile to my face. Also, you seem to have a strange way of seeing into the future too. XD  
Mistress Manga, this is one of your favourite fics? (tears well up) What an honour! If you think that killing off one character is odd enough, then by the end of this you'll be crying your eyes out. XD

Anyway, enough babbling! Time to begin the penultimate chapter, mwahahaha!

* * *

_**Chapter 14: 'Til Death Us Do Part**_

The hospital was eerily quiet that evening, the corridors lit only by the moonlight outside. Melissa sat by a bedside, watching as Chris's chest slowly rose and fell. The monitor next to him was monitoring his vital signs, which were still surprisingly well, all except brain activity, which kept rising and falling every few minutes. She sighed. It had been a long trip back from Mount Gulug, and she couldn't help but feel that something was about to go horribly wrong. This scene was horrifically familiar, yet she knew deep down that what she had seen couldn't possibly happen. He loved her too much to harm her, she just knew it.

---

Samantha sat watching the moon from the hillside that overlooked Rebirth. She still hadn't decided how she was going to tell Kuja about the baby. She rested her face in her hands, desperately trying to think straight, when she felt someone coming up behind her. She didn't even need to turn around to guess who it was.

"Melissa told me you'd be here." Kuja said, sitting down beside her, gazing at her with a concerned expression. "What's wrong? You've been acting strange recently." Sam took a deep breath. It was time.

"You know how we've had a good time this week?" This caught Kuja off-guard.

"Yes? I was a little apprehensive at first. You were quite scary, you know."

"I know, sorry for that. I couldn't exactly control myself."

"I think I know where this is going." He said, looking down at the grassy ground beneath them.

"You do?"

"We've come off with a little something extra from this week, haven't we?" She nodded. He breathed deeply. "I guess I kind of knew from the first moment. We weren't exactly careful, were we?" She shook her head.

"So, what do you want to do?" She bit her lip. She had no idea how he was going to react, but it looked like he'd put a lot of thought into it.

"When Garland created me, he wasn't exactly the greatest father ever. He shunned me in favour of Zidane, and I never experienced a childhood. Look what that did to me, I almost destroyed all of existence, and I killed a lot of innocent people." He put his arm around her waist. "I've decided I'm not going to let another go through the misery I have. I'll stand by both of you until the very end." She hugged him, filled with relief, and they kissed under the pale moonlight.

---

Meanwhile, Melissa was undergoing terrible thoughts. She was steadfastly sat by his bedside, yet she could feel that something had changed about him. The aura around him that she had become bonded with had grown colder, and it was scaring her.

Suddenly, she noticed his eyes had started to flicker open. She gazed into his eyes, like she had done so many times before, and realised that someone else was gazing back at her. She barely had anytime to react when his hand clasped around her throat, restricting the air flow into her lungs. She scrabbled for oxygen, her lungs burning as he tossed her carelessly aside. Her head hit the corner of the simple bedside cabinet, and she could feel her hair becoming slightly wet and sticky where she had fallen. When she looked up, he had already emerged from the bed, staring down at her with an awful smile on his face. Before she could move, he had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. She felt him move quickly, and yelled out in pain as she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

"You know, he's really not liking me for this." His voice was cold and sinister, nothing like what normally emerged from his throat. "He's screaming at me, begging me not to do this." He twisted the scalpel sharply, drawing a gasp and a sob of agony from her. She had fallen onto him, leaning on him for support, and inadvertently pushing her body further onto the blade in his hand. She clasped her hands on his shoulders, gasping for breath. The pain was unimaginable, as he twisted his hand again, and she fell limp with agony. "Foolish girl." He dropped her onto the floor roughly, before walking out of the room. Melissa curled up into a ball on the blood spattered floor, and shuddered in shock as she felt the pool of warm blood slowly growing beneath her.

The last thing she remembered before falling into unconsciousness was a female nurse knocking on the door, and walking in to see her lying on the floor bleeding, and she turned towards the door and screamed down the corridor for aid.

---

Samantha and Kuja slowly walked back towards the control room, before seeing Neil charge past.

"What's the hurry?" She asked, and Neil looked quite pale.

"It's Melissa, she's been stabbed." Her mind blanked with shock for a moment, before Kuja grabbed her by the hand and chased after Neil.

When they reached the ward, Vincent, Rayth, Eve and Joachim were already there waiting, along with Calum, who was stood by the door shaking his head.

Melissa's emerald eyes slowly juddered open, looking at the doctor who was standing over her with a clipboard. He had a concerned look on his face, and her heart jumped as she feared for her baby's safety. He looked at her and shook his head, and she almost sobbed in shock. Suddenly, he seemed to figure out why she was so grief-stricken and quickly raised his hands.

"Don't worry, your child is fine. It's quite lucky he didn't stab you with anything bigger than that scalpel. Any deeper, and I doubt that either of you would have survived it." She sighed with deep relief. "I was just shaking my head at the situation. As long as you get some rest, I can't see why you won't make a full recovery."

"Thank you." She thanked him, closing her eyes for a quick rest.

"Just doing my job." He turned to the others. "Make sure she gets plenty of bed rest, don't let her go anywhere. Keep things as stress-free as you can."

"Easier said than done." Vincent muttered. He thanked the doctor, and the man went on his way, probably to see someone else down the corridor. He sat down on the chair beside the bed. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"It was Lazarus. He's taken over Chris's body, and I don't know what he's going to do next." She explained. Vincent sighed. It was exactly how he'd seen it.

"So where is he now?" Neil asked. Almost on cue, Vincent pulled something out of his pocket, the communicator vibrating calmly.

"_My lord, there's an unauthorised person on Rapture. They're heading up to Halo."_

"Stop the elevator then." There was a pause, and the person on the other end gasped in shock.

"_He's just blown his way through the roof! He's heading up the shaft manually!"_

"Inform Halo Control that there is a highly dangerous black mage heading up the lift shaft, and that he's going to try and steal the Nilith."

"_Yes sir!"_ Vincent put away the communicator, shaking his head in sorrow. He stood up, but was cut off by the communicator vibrating again in his pocket.

"What now?"

"_My lord, I think you'd better see this for yourself."_

---

The control room was in a complete shocked silence, every eye in the room was firmly stuck on the events unfolding on the screen in front of them.

At the bottom of the screen was a picture of the Zion North Gate, and sat calmly over five kilometres away were the bulky insect-like Titans. Lots of them. Well over a hundred. Cluttered around them were all sorts of little vehicles, including a strange sort of fat, bloated tank, and the four legged Walkers that they had seen before.

This wasn't why everyone in the room was shocked.

The reason why everyone had stopped in their tracks was towering right in the middle of the mass of Titans. It was mounted on eight legs, each leg was so armoured that it looked as though not even a nuclear bomb could get through it. It's body was almost twice as big as a standard Titan, painted a deep black, and lined with dark crimson. On it's back were not one, but two giant cannons, along with a wide array of other assorted weaponry.

It was the Babel, and it was pointing every weapon in it's arsenal at the beautiful city in front of it. Of course, none of this made any difference, as Zion was protected by a near impenetrable energy field powered by a combination of the Light Crystal and Halo, flickering softly.

Vincent pondered for a second. Why had the enemy gathered outside the city, when it was blatantly obvious they wouldn't be able to get through the shield that protected Zion?

"Sir, we're getting reports of scattered firefights on Halo." A young technician chipped in. He was looking a little worried, and Vincent couldn't blame him.

"What's happening up there?"

"I don't know. Every time we get a report of anything happening, the person who reported cuts off before we can do anything about it."

"Lazarus. If Halo comes down, we're all in trouble." He turned to the military advisors standing behind him. "I want all groups to their stations, all the aircraft we have should be scrambled immediately." The advisor, dressed in a luxurious dark purple waistcoat, nodded sincerely and turned to leave. Vincent looked back at the events unfolding on the screen in front of him, before sighing. "I'll lead the defense personally." He finished, before heading out after the advisor, death staring him in the face once again. It was going to be sheer suicide going out there, but he knew that his time was drawing to a close. Maybe it would be the one last useful thing that he could do for his people.

--

Meanwhile, the others were sat in the hospital, hanging around by Melissa's bedside. She was looking a little paler than normal, but it was understandable, since she had lost a lot of blood. She'd decided to let her body rest for a while, now sat on the edge of the bed in her spirit form.

"Now what do we do?" Neil asked.

"If Lazarus gets his hands on Nilith, we may have no choice but to kill Chris." Rayth muttered solemnly. Melissa jumped up from the bed.

"No! There's got to be some other way!"

"I had to kill Bruce because Lazarus had him under control, do you have even the slightest idea what that felt like?" Neil shouted.

"If he gets his hands on Nilith, he's right next door to the Life Crystal. We're going to have to stop him by _any _means necessary. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's our only option." Melissa fell back on the bed in shock and horror, before remembering something that she had been told long ago.

"_Just promise me one thing. If I...if I lose control and try to hurt you, do what you must to stop me."_

"_You mean you want me to...kill you?"_

"_You won't be killing me, because I won't be me anymore. It'll just be someone else using my body. Besides, I'd rather die my your blade than any other way."_

"If you're going to...kill him, then let me be the one to do it." She whispered.

"Are you crazy? If you get up now, you'll risk miscarrying!" Eve shouted at her.

"I don't care! I promised him that I'd be the one to kill him if this happened! I promised!"

"And you're willing to risk not only your life, but the life of your child too?" Melissa fell silent. If he was to die, then this child would be the only link she would have with him. She closed her eyes, a tear running down her cheek onto the floor. "Listen to me. I'll figure out a way to sort this out, trust me." Eve reconciled her, and she nodded slowly.

"...okay. Just try to keep him alive, please."

"Trust me." She repeated, before turning and leaving the room. Joachim looked at the grieving woman sat on the bed, before following her out of the room.

Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering explosion from outside. They all crowded around the window to watch in horror as the calm night sky burst into an inferno.

"What the hell just happened!" Calum shouted over the din. Rayth looked shocked out of his mind.

"The great protector has fallen...it's just as she said..." The next instant, buildings exploded all over the place, as the hundreds of Titans waiting outside the city fired at once. The ground rippled under the tremendous force of the blasts. Windows shattered, the air became filled with a choking smoke, deafening alarm bells started ringing everywhere. Huge chunks of flaming metal and debris fell from the heavens, smashing apart entire buildings under a leaden sky.

It looked like the Apocalypse.

"Oh crap, that isn't good." Neil muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Samantha shouted over the incredible racket.

"I need to get to the front lines now!" Rayth replied, running at full sprint out of the room.

"What about us?" Kuja asked.

"We'd better get somewhere safe, right now!" Calum offered a suggestion.

"We can't risk moving her!" Sam answered back, pointing at Melissa.

"Get out of here and save yourselves!" She shouted back.

"Oh no, you ain't getting away that easily. We're all in this mess together!" Neil responded. She bit her lip with worry. "You're coming with us even if we have to carry you!"

"What about all the other patients? We can't evacuate everyone!" She yelled

"Well we'll just have to protect this building then, won't we?" He grinned, just as an Imaginary Number dived through the shattered window, swinging his arm-blade everywhere. Neil quickly dispatched him, before turning to see another blown apart by Kuja's highly charged Thunder spell. "This is gonna be fun." He chuckled before preparing his blade for the next enemy.

---

Meanwhile, high above the besieged city, an attack wing of Viper fighters was heading towards the giant burning mess that was just on the outer rim of the city, the main battlefield. The lead pilot could see the towering monstrosity that was the Babel from several miles away, preparing to launch his missiles at the massive target. Suddenly, there was a bright white blur that flew past him.

"What was that?" He muttered, right before his left wingman was blown out of the sky by a bright purple lance of energy from this new figure, the broken fighter dropping down into the city below in a blaze of fire. He looked and couldn't believe what he saw.

This thing was actually a person, in smooth pure white armour, with some sort of black thorny symbols winding their way up the armour plate. The person's face was all but hidden by a helmet, all except for two shining white eyes through an slit in the helmet. Whoever it was, they were also holding a thin sword-like weapon, with a golden hilt, and a long thin blade.

Before he had chance to react, the figure had cast out a palm and thrown another purple blast at him, blowing him out of the sky in a single shot, before flying away towards the centre of the city, towards a shining beam of light that lanced into the heavens.

---

In the hospital, things were heating up a little. Kuja and Samantha were standing on the roof, fighting desperately against the mass of clones that were climbing nimbly up the side of the building, like insects. Inside, Calum and Neil were cutting away through any clones that had busted their way inside. Melissa was laid in her bed, pointing an arm-blade that had been salvaged from a clone, and shooting anything hostile that went past her room. There was a group of Reapers defending the Grand Infirmary from the Imaginary Numbers, swinging the scythes on the end of their rifles into the enemy whenever they got a little too close for comfort, their black armour slowly becoming more and more blood encrusted.

To put it quite simply, it was complete chaos.

"Where the hell did all these come from?" Samantha shouted, swinging the deep purple blade into the nearest clone, before yanking it out and flinging it into the next target. Kuja was standing to her back, unleashing all sorts of magical fury upon any Imaginary Number that dared step too close. The amount of corpses were starting to pile up, new enemies having to climb over their fallen comrades to get any closer. They soon realised that firing at the pair was practically useless, as Kuja's Protect spell was easily strong enough to stop a few bits of metal, bullets pinging harmlessly off the light-blue barrier around them.

Downstairs, events were getting a little hectic, to say the least. Imaginary Numbers were piling in through the reception, much to the other patients' shock, and proceeding to try and blow apart anything they could before being cut down by the squad of Reapers standing guard near the entrance to the wards. Neil was cursing like a maniac each time a clone burst through a window at him, only to be blown back out with a blast of Holy, often in several bloody chunks. He sauntered down the corridor, only to wander past Melissa's room and notice that she wasn't moving, dark red blood quite visible on the bed, her eyes closed. He cursed loudly and ran in to see what he could do.

Calum wasn't faring much better down the corridor either, as the sheer amount of Imaginary Numbers was starting to get to him. He torched another with a well-placed Fire spell, and swung the naginata into a clone heading up to the side of him, slicing it's head clean off. He felt the impact of several bullets slamming into his red and black armour, pulling back for a moment before diving into them, slashing wildly at the heartless foes.

Back on the roof, some of the clones that had climbed up pulled back, and another man jumped up onto the roof. This one was quite visible from his long silver hair that went far past his shoulders, closely followed by the dead female assassin from the Festival Of The Hunt, her sharp shock of silver hair glinting in the shadowy light through the smoke.

"Well well well, I didn't expect to find you still alive." The female muttered, grinning crazily. Her male companion nodded, a dark smirk on his face, before pointing his ornate blade-arm at Kuja.

"Who are you?" Kuja asked.

"I suppose I could give you that as a last request. My name is Acheron, my companion here is Lethe. You happened to have already killed one of our brothers, Phlegethon, back at the palace."

"What about Styx?"

"Still alive and well, but he's a little angry about you shooting him in the head like that. Perfectly understandable, of course."

"Of course." Kuja retorted sarcastically.

"Then of course there's Cocytus, our sister. She happens to be heading towards your race's leader at this instant. I doubt he'll last long." Acheron grinned, and fired a single shot at Kuja, which he effortlessly deflected with the protect spell. The Imaginary Numbers held off their attack, standing in line around the edge, forming some sort of arena in the centre of the roof. Acheron leapt at Kuja, nimbly avoiding the Thunder spell that had been launched at him, leaping down as another crackling blast of lightning flew over his right shoulder. He jumped back to his feet, flicking the blade out to his side and then going in, barely missing Kuja's throat.

Lethe, on the other hand, was currently flicking her kunai at Sam, who was desperately trying to block and dodge every blow that was thrown at her. Kuja had been pinned to the floor, Acheron on top of him, trying push the lethal blade down into his exposed abdomen. If Kuja had decided to use any sort of high-level spell at that moment, there wouldn't be much left of him. All he could concentrate on doing was trying to stop the sharp point of that blade from entering his body. He heard Sam cry out as she was slashed across the chest. Luckily, it was only a light wound, barely cutting into her flesh. Lethe laughed coldly, before jumping high into the air and kicking her to the floor. Slowly but surely, that blade was getting closer to his chest, and if something didn't happen soon, his internal organs were going to be spread out over the floor in one big gunky mess.

Luckily, something did happen.

There was a resounding crack over the sound of explosions and chaos, and Acheron suddenly went limp, falling onto Kuja's body. He looked over the broken body, and saw Rayth, standing on the very edge of the roof, with his rifle pointed squarely at the back of Acheron's head. He shrugged.

"Joachim warned me about some troops heading towards this place, I figured I'd be more help here anyway." At that same instant, Lethe was thrown backwards by Ebony, who'd finally decided to emerge from Sam's body. It wasn't long before Lethe had been completely devoured, and Ebony had disappeared back inside Sam's psyche.

"I'll never get used to that." She murmured dizzily. Kuja pushed the limp body off his chest, before getting up and going over to her.

"Are you alright?"

"It's just a little cut here." She pointed at the light slash that she had received, a thin line of crimson running down the side of her chest. It was faintly leaking a fine white mist, but nothing too serious. Rayth stepped down from the edge of the roof, watching the silent clones carefully. He pulled out his silver pistol and walked up to one of them, putting a single bullet through it's head at point-blank range, trying to gauge a reaction from the others. But nothing was happening. It was at that point that he had noticed everything go quiet. The explosions and the gunshots had disappeared, leaving nothing but an eerie silence across the grand city.

"Is it over?" Kuja asked.

"...sounds like it..." Rayth muttered in shock. What had happened? Why had the attack suddenly stopped? Had we won?"

---

I groaned as my eyes opened slowly, a bright white light filling my senses. I tried to figure out what had happened. The last thing I remembered was collapsing at Mount Gulug, and this certainly didn't look like a winter wonderland. In fact, it looked like a shiny metal ceiling, with a glaring reflection of light from some unknown point. I decided to try and move my limbs, finding that they were working perfectly. Looking over to my side, I saw one of the most unexpected sights ever.

Joachim was pointing a single black handgun at Eve's head, while she was shouting at him for something. His hand was visibly trembling, but my hearing seemed to have cut out, leaving me to try and lip-read what they were saying. Of course, I couldn't lip-read in the first place, which didn't help at all. Eve had continued to shout a lot, clutching her head in pain, before I jumped at the sight of Joachim blowing her brains out. However, the instant he pulled the trigger, both of them vanished into thin air. I couldn't see them in either realm, and became highly puzzled by that. Where had they gone? Were they dead? What had I done during my blackout?

Where the hell was I?

The last question was easily answered with a quick look around. The room had been exactly the same as in my dream, a shining silver metal wall, with a single heavy looking door, now swinging open. In the very centre of the room was a blindingly bright orb of light. My hands were tingling, and I could feel that I had been casting a lot of spells recently. Powerful ones, too. I felt utterly exhausted, yet I hadn't actually done anything. Had I been possessed again?

I saw the Nilith on the floor, and picked up an idea. If it could cut it's way through anything, what would stop it from continuing endlessly towards the centre of the planet if I dropped it point down? All I would technically need to do was to remove the hilt, which wouldn't be too difficult. It may be indestructible, but I could at least ensure that the blade that could cut anything would never be found again.

I kicked it over to the doorway, taking care to get it in the right position, before dropping my foot down with all my weight on the hilt of the blade, snapping it off instantly. Now all that was left was the thin blade itself, which had now begun to cut it's way through the floor, sliding effortlessly into a self-created slit in the blackened metal. I sat back down on the floor, knackered after my mystery ordeal, before numbly looking at the spot where Eve and Joachim had disappeared. What had they done? Whatever it was, I couldn't detect Lazarus's presence anywhere, the darkness that had filled my soul now lifted. Had he gone? Were we safe now? I shook my head, trying to think straight, before climbing back to my feet and heading out of the glorious room, slamming the heavy, safe-like door shut on the way out.

Eventually, I reached the Grand Infirmary near the Zion Control Centre. The once magnificent city was now ravaged, buildings lying in pieces, or standing tall, flaming like huge melting candles. I figured that this was the best place to go, a feeling deep down told me so. I walked in, past the intimidating Reapers, who were looking at the smashed corpses of Imaginary Numbers with disdain. Walking deep inside the hospital, I came across a ward, where I could see all the others. Kuja and Samantha laid asleep in the corner, snuggled up together in the very corner. Neil was sat shaking his head by the bedside, Rayth was standing next to the entrance, his head bowed. Calum was sat by the window, cleaning off his naginata while looking for any other sign of threats. Littered on the floor of the ward were bodies of Imaginary Numbers, fallen in pools of their own blood, splatters strewn about everywhere, looking like someone had let a two-year-old loose with a bucket of red paint.

Laid in the bed, covered in blood, was Melissa. She was perfectly still, almost as though she was dead. Neil seemed to notice that I had come in, and stood up.

"What happened?" I asked. He looked down, before shaking his head at me.

"Sorry, she didn't make it." He reported.

My heart suddenly burst into a million pieces, as though someone had planted a bomb in the very centre of it, and chose that moment as the time to trigger the detonator. My legs felt weak with shock, my mind numbed.

"...h-how?" I asked, fighting back the tears.

"We came under attack from tons of clones, and had problems fighting them all off. When I came to here, she was practically dead." He took a deep breath. "She had one thing to tell you though, before she gave up."

"What?" I asked. I felt as though I was going to die at any second.

Suddenly, Melissa's 'corpse' shot up straight and grinned.

"Surprise!" She laughed. My entire body flooded with the warmth of relief.

"That wasn't funny." I said, looking at Neil.

"Hey, it wasn't that funny when you played the same trick on us with Zidane!" Okay, I had to admit that had been a bit stupid. Perhaps I deserved it a little bit.

"Where's Eve and Joachim?" Calum asked. I looked down.

"They didn't make it."

"Are you being serious this time?" Neil questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I watched them die." I couldn't find the words to tell them what had actually happened. There isn't a chance in Hell that they would have believed me. He sighed and bowed his head. Melissa was looking a little depressed. I went over to her and gave her a cuddle.

"It's my fault they're dead. I wanted to go after you, but Eve wouldn't let me. She insisted she'd do something." She looked up at me, a tear in her eye. "And they did. They brought you back to me." We embraced tightly.

"It isn't your fault. I think...I think they knew what was going to happen. That's why they came after me." I heard a stir from the corner, and noticed that Kuja had been sat listening to the whole conversation.

"Joachim told me he knew he would not return alive. I guess Eve knew it too." He added. Rayth looked down the corridor, and then walked over to me, his face full of sorrow.

"You'd better come with me." He looked straight into my eyes. Confused, I followed him down the bloody corridor, stepping over the carpet of slashed and burnt bodies, and into another ward. In here, there were eleven men and women crowded around the bed, where I could see a familiar figure lying.

"Vincent?" I asked, gobsmacked. The group were all dressed in purple, in a wide range of clothing types. I stepped forwards, standing by my ancestor's bedside. He was flickering in and out of visibility, the strain of existing visible in his eyes. He raised a hand shakily, and I took it, ignoring the incredible cold of death that I felt.

"I pass on my will to you. Lead us into a brave new world." With that, he faded out, his body evaporating into a fine mist, as the last reserves of his strength failed. The mist rose into the air and disappeared, leaving the room completely motionless. I looked at the group that stood in the room, and all of them, including Rayth, knelt down one knee. It was quite an uncanny sight.

"You're our leader now. I know it's not exactly the best time, but he sustained too many injuries in battle. It's almost as if he knew his time was up." Rayth explained, looking at the empty bed. "I always thought I'd go before he did. Guess I was wrong."

"_So you're in charge now? Oh great, we're screwed."_ Kirjava joked. I looked out of the window, and through the smoke, I could just see the sun rising on the horizon, it's light bursting through the darkness of the destruction. I found myself smiling slowly.

It may have set on a devastated world, but it was rising over a brave new one...

* * *

One more chapter to go peeps, and that's it for this installement! It's been emotional! If you're all getting heavily confused by now, then bear with me. By the end of the trilogy, all will be explained!

Adieu

Chris


	16. Epilogue: Brave New World

Disclaimer: Check the previous chapters, and if you have any queries, then e-mail me at the address provided in my profile. No stealing, or I'll come and hunt you down with sharp pointy sticks and my elite team of law ninjas!

A/N: This epilogue should help set things up for the next installement, plus it's a nice opportunity to see how things are getting on.

_**Epilogue: Brave New World

* * *

**_

The sun was setting in the far distance, and I sat in my rather well furnished office to watch it set, observing as the deep orange light glinted spectacularly off the crystalline buildings of Zion, refracting the light into a dazzling rainbow of colours. I sighed and turned back to the desk, looking around the room. It was furnished with mahogany, with luxurious bottle green wallpaper, and a rather expensive looking chandelier hung in the middle, lighting up the rapidly darkening room.

It had beensixteen years since the events that had taken place right here in Zion. Quite frankly, it still seemed as though it was yesterday that Zidane and myself had made a surprise return during a rendition of _I Want To Be Your Canary_ back in Alexandria. Where had the time gone?

I looked at my desk. Along with all the paperwork, construction plans for Sanubia and Atlantis, and some particularly complex-looking reports from the Science department, there were two objects that meant a lot to me.

The first item was a single plain looking compact disc. It was the first disc from Final Fantasy 9, the one item that had started these events in motion. I had recovered it after returning to my old home a few months after the war ended, much to my family's shock and surprise. How would you react if a son or daughter that had vanished five years beforehand, presumed dead, suddenly walked back into your life? We sat down and I explained the whole story from start to finish, much to their disbelief. I had to prove a few things, of course, and I lit the old fireplace in the living room using a simple Fire spell, to prove that black magic existed. Again, they were quite shocked about this. Of course, my parents were quite happy to discover that they were soon going to be grandparents too, so I guess that evened it out a little.

The second item on the desk was a small pale green wristband, stating the name of our child, and who the mother was. It was so small now that I could just fit it around my index and middle finger. Her birth was an event that would stay with me to my grave.

* * *

_I sat on the comfortable chair, listening to the other members of the Council speak their opinion on our latest project, the rebuilding of Heaven. They were mostly for it, but it was just the niggling details that were standing in the way. I yawned quietly. We'd be sat in that room for nigh on six hours now, discussing all of the events of the week, and negotiating plans for all our future projects._

_It was at that moment that I felt a vibration in the pocket on the inside of my cloak. I pulled out the mobile telephone and opened it up._

"_Hello?" I half-expected it to be one of my aides informing me that something obscure was happening somewhere._

"_Hey Chris, I'm at the hospital." It was Melissa. I shot out of my seat in surprise. Some of the other members were looking a little puzzled, others a little miffed._

"_They've started already?"_

"_Yeah, you might want to be quick."_

"_Be there in no time at all." I responded, before closing the phone and dragging my navy blue cloak around me._

"_Where are you going? We've still not finished!" Evelyn protested._

"_Look, you already know my stance on this. Update me later, something important just cropped up." I threw back before heading out of the Council Chambers and heading out towards the Grand Infirmary, my heart beating quickly in anticipation._

_I strode purposefully up to the receptionist, who was picking her nails idly, her entire attention seemed focused on this task. Once she noticed who was standing in front of her, foot tapping in irritation, she jumped in shock, before trying desperately to look busy._

"_Can I help you?" She asked, leaning on the desk._

"_Yeah, could you tell me where Melissa Heald is?" She tapped away on the keyboard in front of her, before looking back._

"_She's in B-Wing, room 23." She reported._

"_Oh, by the way, try to pay more attention next time, alright?" She nodded, her cheeks glowing. I turned and headed out, checking door numbers nervously. Finally, I found room 23, and walked straight in, seeing my wife lying on the bed, in a very compromising position, looking rather flustered about the whole event. I fought the temptation not to laugh._

"_Finally!" She groaned in relief. The doctor turned to me._

"_Just in the nick of time, she's going to need your help." I sat down next to her, taking her hand in mine._

"_How are you holding up?" I asked, and if looks could kill, I would have dropped to floor from several thousand stab wounds._

"_How does it look?" She replied sarcastically, before gritting her teeth in pain. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only thing she ground together, and I felt all the bones in my hand crunch together in a very painful fashion. I gave her some words of encouragement, but I was mostly cringing from the fact that my now trapped hand was starting to hurt a lot. In fact, I'm sure I felt a few bones break. We'd been told beforehand what she was about to go through (and what she would put me through), but nothing quite prepares you for it._

"_Christ woman, must you grab so tight?" I whimpered._

"_If you knew what I was going through right about now, you wouldn't be asking that question." She muttered, breathing deeply. "Besides, be thankful I'm not turning into a demon and attempting to rip your guts out." It took me a few seconds to realise what she was going on about._

"_Sam's gone into labour too?"_

"_Quite a while ago. She's probably finished by now, but I could tell that Ebony wasn't pleased with the situation. You could hear the screams across the entire wing." She laughed for a second. "I wonder whether Kuja's still alive?" Suddenly, I felt more pain in my shattered hand, indicating another push along the way._

_This cycle continued for what felt like eternity, until eventually I heard a high-pitched cry. The doctor was cradling a small bloody slimy bundle, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. Melissa had a quite uncanny combination of tears running down her cheeks, both of pain and immense joy. The doctor passed her the tiny frail child._

"_Congratulations, it's a girl." He smiled, and handed her to Melissa, after cleaning her off first and sorting out all the loose ends. Soon after, I got to hold her, and time simply froze. In my arms, I was cradling such a frail and beautiful child, that against all odds had survived everything Nature had thrown at her. She had beautiful blue eyes, and looked around in wonder, her tiny hand gripping my finger. Never before in my life had I ever been so happy, my body felt like it was going to overdose on joy, threatening to drop me to the floor at any instant._

_Finally, we sat together as a family. Neil and Calum had got the news and burst in later on, and a joyful-looking Sam and Kuja had joined us too. I doubt the mood in that room could have possibly been any happier, a stark contrast to the same time nine months ago. It took a while for us to decide on a name for our children, but in the end it was a unanimous decision. Nine months ago, two people had died to ensure that we would live to see this day. The least we could do was to name our children in their memory._

_Eve and Joachim

* * *

_

I smiled as the memories came flooding back, it surely had been a day of great joy, a shining light through the darkness that had enshrouded the world before then. Suddenly, the door burst open, and a spritely young girl jumped in. Her silky long light brown hair shimmered in the vanishing sun, and her face radiant with happiness. She wore a thin black blouse, coupled with a long winding black dress that made it's way down to her ankles. Hanging around her neck was a small pendant sporting an opal eye, glittering in the radiant light.

"Hey dad, what you up to?" She sat on my desk, peering down at the documents that were strewn across it.

"Nothing much, I was just getting ready to come back." The older Eve grew, the more and more she began to look like her mother, a stunning beauty backed up with a sharp wit and cunning. The eyes were mine though, twinkling sapphires nestled in a radiant face. "How'd the date go?" I asked.

"Daaaaaaad! He's not my boyfriend, you know."

"Well, he's a boy, and your friend, right?" She rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean." I suppressed a chuckle, instead showing it as a wry grin.

"C'mon, I saw you two last night, and I happen to know a relationship when I see one. Joachim's a nice guy, you picked well."

"Yeah, but he's got a problem with being able to touch other people." I remembered. His eyes and his hairstyle weren't the only things he had inherited from his mother. He was also stuck being part-wraith too.

"I bet Sam's already teaching him how to control it."

"That's not the only problem he has." She bit her lip. I knew exactly what she was talking about, they were both reaching that age, and the fact that Joachim was part-wraith didn't exactly help, being stuck with urges he didn't understand once every year. Fortunately, his body hadn't developed enough for the side-effects to be lethal, but there was no telling when it could happen.

"Ah don't worry about it. You'll both know when it's time, just let things flow naturally." I thought for a second, remembering what had happened the first time Sam had undergone the experience. "Be careful too, you wouldn't anything to happen now, would you?" She shook her head.

"You know me, I'm always careful!" She giggled and gave me a hug.

Ebony still insisted that things went on as normal on her week of the year, but in the younger days, Melissa and myself had done a little babysitting while the parents went on a weeks "holiday". Life had progressed, and both Eve and Joachim had grown so much, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Where Joachim had picked up Kuja's complexion and general look, not to mention both black and white magic, he had picked up his personality as a combination from both Sam and Kuja. He tended to be a little cold and cynical at times, but once you got through that, he was a right joker.

Eve, on the other hand, had picked up my seriousness and inability to properly express her emotions, she'd definitely got Melissa's devastating intelligence, cunning and agility. She had a habit of getting her own way back when she was younger. Heck, it had seemed almost like guerrilla warfare every time she wanted an ice-cream. Plus she hadn't learnt how to control her black magic abilities yet, often setting fire to things when angry. I'd pity you if she gave you a cold shoulder...literally.

She swung her legs back and forth, looking down at the plans for Heaven. Another thing she had picked up from me is an annoying tendency to analyse any situation thrown at her.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Nice, but wouldn't it be a better idea to put the Wind Crystal here..." She pointed at a spot just under the proposed control centre. "...instead of there?" I had thought about it. The Light Crystal was getting ready to re-form the other crystals, so we'd need to get the foundations down pretty soon.

One thing I had found out after the attempted destruction of the Light Crystal was that in the occasion that any of the other crystals were destroyed, they could be rebuilt. Each crystal contained the so-called "blueprints" for all of the other crystals, meaning that they could technically regenerate from the remaining crystal. The universe had obviously thought quite hard for a back-up system in case of a reboot, since it was so damn hard to actually cause one. The Nilith had long vanished into the core of the planet, leaving no way of inducing a Universal Re-alignment, and leaving us safe.

"Not bad, looks like you were paying attention in class for once." I complimented her, and she stuck out her tongue.

"So are we going home or what? I've gotta get ready to go out later."

"Another date?"

"It's not a date!"

"Yeah right, just be thankful you're actually getting a chance to take things slow like this. When your mother and I fell in love, it was more like a whirlwind romance."

"Yeah, and according to Mum, you gave her quite a few shocks."

"Well, those were the times. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure we were all going to make it through. But everything turned out fine, didn't it?"

"Yeah." She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the chair. "C'mon, hurry up!" We left for home, and I flicked the lights off on the way out.

---

Our house wasn't anything spectacular, not something you'd expect from the High Seer, but it was cosy. More importantly, it was home, no matter what it was.

It was a small cottage in the countryside just south of Alexandria, vines slowly creeping their way up the side of old stony wall. The garden lead out onto a stunning view of the natural basin that housed the Evil Forest and the Ice Cavern. It felt so long ago that I had been struggling my way through that now petrified forest, discovering my black magic in the frozen heart of the Ice Cavern, before discovering my heritage by the South Gate in the far distance.

Recently, we had rediscovered the technology used in the Seer Gates, building more of them all over the place. Now each major city in Gaia had one, and a lot of the massive cities on Earth had them too. It had been a tense time for both worlds when leaders met for talks on what was happening, but now everything was well and truly out in the open. I remember attending that meeting, sat there in the United Nations headquarters, listening as each of the leaders stepped up and said their bit about prosperity and goodwill between both worlds. Of course, the existence of the Spiritseers was also out in the open, and now the most interesting thing had happened. People were no longer terrified of death, because there was solid proof that there was an afterlife. They could be assured that when their bodies grew too incapable of holding the spirit, that we would take care of them until their time was over, and they rejoined the Light Crystal. It had been quite funny standing in the middle of the UN headquarters, trying to explain exactly how death worked. There was no doubt I'd upset quite a few religions, but quite frankly I couldn't have cared less.

I sat on the stony wall, gazing out over the stunning view that accompanied our little cottage, when I felt someone wrap their arms around me from behind. I turned my head to see Melissa, also looking out over the horizon. I would be thirty-five in a few months, and even though we had both aged, nothing had reduced her beauty, her emerald eyes still as attention-grabbing as ever before.

"I was thinking before." Melissa started.

"I thought I could see the smoke." I joked, and she gave me a playful tap on the head.

"I was thinking about Eve and Joachim, the original ones."

"What about them?"

"Do you remember what they look like?" My memory had faded a bit over the past few years, but I could still vaguely remember.

"Yeah, they looked kind of like our kids. Why?"

"Do you think that was a coincidence?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. Eve came with us when we went to London, and Joachim went with Sam and Kuja when they went to look for her parents. They almost seemed attached to us. I always had the strangest feeling that I knew them from somewhere, and yet I didn't know where." She looked at me, and I had to agree. I'd always felt that they were familiar, yet I couldn't place my finger on where I had seen them before.

"So what do you think then?"

"Chris, what if _they_ were our kids?"

"That's impossible, we met them before the kids were even conceived, let alone born."

"I don't know how, just maybe something happened, somewhere in the lost fragments of time. I mean, you had a load of visions that never came true, what if they had actually happened?" I suddenly remembered something quite freaky. I hadn't had any type of prophetic vision since the day I had seen them die. Vincent had once explained to me that there were hundreds of thousands of different time streams, so what if I had been seeing visions of a time stream that had screwed up after the end of the war? I noticed that I had never once seen Eve or Joachim in any of my visions, so could it be possible that I had been seeing what would have happened if they hadn't been around?

I sighed. I'd barely gotten used to cross-dimensional travel, and now I was supposed to start thinking about time travel too?

"If they had been our children, then wouldn't they have known about it?"

"Exactly. Kuja told me that Joachim had spent half his time while they were away trying to get him and Sam together. Eve saved your life back in London to ensure that you would stay with me. Also, wasn't she the one that had suggested that we spend the night in that inn on the way there? It's all starting to make sense now."

"Then what had happened to prompt them into giving their lives to save us? If they still existed in the future, then why did they come back?"

"I don't know. The future must have been bleak for them to have to come back." We remained silent, thinking about all of this. So we had inadvertently named our children after our children? A strange prospect, but something I felt comfortable with. When they had both disappeared in the Light Chamber, that must have been the time stream repairing itself, ridding itself of things that couldn't exist. Everything had worked out fine, thanks to their sacrifice.

"I'm going now!" I heard Eve shout from the house. We turned and waved her off, watching as she turned to go, only to be tickled to death by the man that was standing behind her. Joachim had been her close friend since early childhood, and now something was finally blossoming between them. It made me happy to see her enjoying herself, knowing that at her age I would have been struggling to stay alive, let alone enjoy myself.

"Aww, how cute." I sniggered. Melissa laughed out loud, watching our daughter being carried off over Joachim's shoulders, waving wildly. Before long, their laughter had echoed into silence, and we sat together watching the sun set over the horizon.

The future looked bright for our universe, but what could it have turned out like?

_**To be continued...

* * *

**_

Well, that's it then for Back To Reality (sniff), but I'll be back soon. Make sure you look out for Reality Check: A Stitch In Time for the latest installement of the Reality Check Trilogy! Thanks for all the reviews, and thanks for reading.

G'night people! (waves hands in the air)

Chris


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